UC-NRLF 


$B    7Qb    D3b 


IN  THE 

DEPARTMENT 

OF 

ANCACHS 


BY 


E.T.  S. 


IN  THE  DEPART- 
MENT <?/ANCACHS 
&  OTHER  PAPERS 


By  E.  T.  S. 


CLEVELAND 
1909 


150  copies  of  this  book 
were  privately  printed, 
of  which  this  copy  is 


w' 


A^. 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Foreword  9 


In  the  Department  of  Ancachs 

I.  Down  the  Coast  from  Panama  13 

II.  The  City  of  the  Kings  17 

III.  Chimbote  23 

IV.  Across  the  Cordillera  Negra  29 

V.  An  Engineer's  Camp  35 

VI.  Coolie  Slavery  4I 

VII.  One  Aspect  of  the  Tropics  47 

VIII.  A  Story  of  La  Soledad  51 

IX.  On  the  Way  to  Caraz  57 

X.  Conclusion  61 


Japan  Before  the  War  With  China 

Memories  of  a  Visit  in  1892  67 

An  Experience  of  Chinese  Differences  89 


ivi6S65^70 


FOREWORD 

A  SCORE  of  years  ago  *'Peru'^  was  se- 
lected as  a  theme  of  study  by  a  local  club 
of  Cleveland.  As  none  of  tHe  members  had 
ever  seen  the  *'Land  of  the  Incas,"  I  was 
requested  to  write  a  short  narrative  of  per- 
sonal experiences  in  that  country. 

The  paper  presented  in  response  to 
that  request  is  printed  in  this  little  volume, 
and  added  to  it  are  several  other  sketches 
which,  by  the  merciful  operation  of  a  rigid 
time  limit,  never  reached  the  ears  of  the  club 
members. 

It  was  the  writer's  intention  to  supply  an 
antidote  to  what  may  be  termed  a  mental  in- 
digestion, induced  by  a  too  heavy  diet  of  solid 
facts  culled  from  encyclopedias  and  various 
books  of  travel.  This  accoimts  for  the  char- 
acter of  the  experiences,  selected  at  random 
from  many  impressions  made  on  the  memory 
during  a  residence  of  three  years  in  the  land 
so  mercilessly  pillaged  by  Pizzaro  and  his 
adventurers,  in  the  time  which  historians, 
with  unconscious  irony,  term  *'the  glorious 
days  of  the  Oonquistadores.'^ 

E.  T.  S. 


Cleveland,  May,  1909. 


IN  THE 
DEPARTMENT    OF    ANCACHS 


DOWN  THE  COAST  FROM  PANAMA. 

'nr^  HIS  account  of  impressions  and  per- 
-■-  sonal  experiences  in  South  America  is 
confined  chiefly  to  observations  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Ancachs  in  the  northern  part  of 
Peru. 

The  picture  left  on  the  mind  after  a  few 
years*  sojourn  among  the  inhabitants  of 
Ancachs  is  of  a  people  deliciously  lazy  and 
tinged  with  the  grace  and  manner  of  old 
Spain  at  the  time  of  the  conquest— so  easy 
and  procrastinating  in  their  ways  that  it  is 
a  liberal  education  for  a  restless  citizen  of  the 
energetic  north  to  abide  awhile  with  them. 
The  experience  teaches  him  the  gentle  quality 
of  patience ;  he  becomes  more  charitable,  and 
holds  in  abeyance  the  stern  tendency  to  con- 
demn a  fellow  being  whose  lively  imagination 
causes  him  at  times  to  ignore  the  hampering 
chains  of  absolute  truthfulness.  They  have 
the  impulsiveness  of  the  Latin  race,  and  in 
times  of  revolution  the  barbarous  instinct  of 
the  Indian  admixture  too  often  shows  itself. 
In  time  of  peace  their  gracious  hospitality 


makes  the  stranger's  heart  warm  to  them, 
and  the  thought  of  their  gentle  kindness 
lingers  sweetly  in  his  memory  through  after 
years. 

In  sailing  down  the  western  coast  the  first 
stop  south  of  Panama  is  made  at  Guayaquil, 
sixty  miles  up  the  river  of  that  name— a  river 
fringed  with  mangroves,  palms  and  luxuriant 
tropic  growths.  In  places  the  low  side  hills 
are  bright  with  the  changing  foliage  of 
deciduous  trees,  the  ripened  leaf  glowing  with 
color  directly  under  the  equator,  disproving 
the  conmion  belief  that  frost  is  essential  to  the 
change.  The  scenery  is  very  tropical.  Little 
villages  of  thatched  huts  appear  at  intervals 
along  the  shore.  Now  and  then  a  huge 
alligator  is  seen  basking  in  the  sun,  and  long 
rows  of  red  flamingoes  line  the  mud  bars, 
warily  eyeing  the  approaching  steamer. 

The  City  of  Guayaquil  is  reached  at  noon. 
It  seems  quiet  and  deserted,  for  the  inhabi- 
tants are  indulging  in  the  mid-day  siesta. 
The  first  sight  that  the  stranger  notices  is 
the  fleet  of  up-river  boats  loaded  with  flowers 
and  fruits,  and  noisy  with  monkeys  and 
parrots.  A  naval  lieutenant  and  myself  de- 
cided to  explore  the  town  in  spite  of  the  noon 
heat.  On  landing,  the  first  thing  that  at- 
tracted our  attention  was  a  street  car,  on 
which  was  a  printed  notice  stating  that  the 
ear  ran  to  a  salt  water  lagoon  about  three 
miles  away,  where  there  was  good  bathing. 
The  motive  power  consisted  of  two  weary 

14 


looking  mules.  The  driver  was  on  the  front 
platform,  and  the  conductor  on  the  back,  both 
Negroes,  scantily  clad  and  both  sound  asleep. 
As  our  voices  had  no  effect,  a  vigorous  kick 
was  applied  to  the  conductor,  who  rather 
shamed  our  rudeness  by  rising,  bowing  grace- 
fully and  informing  us  that  he  was  highly 
honored  by  the  attention  of  such  distinguished 
cabelleros,  and  that  the  entire  road  and  equip- 
ment was  ours  and  at  our  disposal.  A  volley 
of  expletives  aroused  the  motive  power  to  a 
walk,  which  was  continued  to  the  end  of  the 
line,  the  animals  being  too  lazy  to  stop.  The 
driver  and  conductor  immediately  resumed 
their  slumbers,  while  the  lieutenant  and  I 
gazed  at  the  low  houses  with  their  barred  win- 
dows and  large  door-ways  that  opened  into 
shady  patios. 

Near  this  city  the  so-called  Panama  hats 
are  made.  They  are  woven  from  fine  grass  by 
the  patient  women,  a  labor  of  many  months. 
The  water  is  not  good  and  the  traveler  would 
do  well  to  follow  our  example  and  drink  the 
cool,  clear  liquid  from  the  green  cocoanut. 
The  natives  are  mostly  a  mongrel  race  of 
Spanish,  Indian  and  Negro  descent,  shiftless 
and  untidy,  but  polite  and  obliging.  The 
country  at  this  time  was  just  beginning  to  feel 
the  effects  of  having  offered  itself  as  an 
asylum  to  the  Jesuits  who  had  been  expelled 
from  the  neighboring  republics.  Their  vil- 
lainous intrigues  were  hastening  a  revolution, 
and  all  progress  had  ceased  under  the  blight- 
is 


ing  touch   of   these   unworthy   followers   of 
Loyola. 

On  rounding  Cape  Blanco,  the  cool  ocean 
current  from  the  Antartic  Seas  lowers  the 
temperature— a  refreshing  change  after  the 
intense  heat  of  the  Colombian  and  Ecuador- 
ean  coasts.  South  of  the  cape  the  rainless 
region  begins,  extending  far  down  the  coast 
into  Chili.  The  first  stop  in  Peru  is  at  Payta, 
a  most  desolate  town,  situated  at  the  base  of 
barren  sand  bluffs,  beyond  which  lies  the 
fertile  valley  of  Piura,  from  which  comes  all 
the  supplies  for  Payta,  including  water. 
From  Payta  to  Callao  the  steamer  sails  close 
to  the  shore,  disclosing  long  stretches  of  deso- 
late barrens,  rising  rapidly  inland.  The  foot 
hills  are  marked  in  bands  of  vivid  red,  yellow 
and  olive  brown,  fading  to  a  misty  gray  far 
inland,  where  in  dreamy  indistinctness  tower 
the  mighty  Andes.  The  curiously  colored  soil 
is  very  fertile  where  irrigated,  the  isolated 
haciendas  and  little  towns  being  scarcely 
visible  through  the  greenness  of  luxuriant 
vegetation. 


16 


II 

THE  CITY  OF  THE  KINGS. 

AFTER  disembarking  at  Callao  and  speed- 
.  ing  over  the  eight  miles  of  road  to  Lima, 
we  felt  that  we  were  finally  in  Peru,  in  the 
City  of  the  Kings,  at  that  time  one  of  the 
cleanest  and  best-lighted  cities  in  the  world. 
In  reality,  the  first  impression  that  a  stranger 
receives  is  that  the  fleas  are  numerous  and  the 
most  energetic  inhabitants  of  the  country. 
They  strangely  disappear,  however,  at  an 
altitude  of  about  four  thousand  feet  in  the 
mountains.  At  about  the  same  altitude  the 
curious  malady  known  as  ''verrugas,"  which 
annoyed  Pizzaro's  soldiers,  is  as  prevalent 
today  as  it  was  in  1533.  It  shows  itself  in  a 
dark  red  eruption  of  the  skin,  varying  in  size 
from  a  pea  to  a  pecan,  and  in  extent  from  a 
sew  scattered  points  to  an  infinite  number. 
The  slightest  irritation  produces  profuse 
bleeding.  The  eruption  is  preceded  by  severe 
pains,  similar  to  rheumatism.  Speedy  recov- 
ery follows  on  removal  to  the  hot  lowlands. 

We  arrived  at  the  close  of  the  unsuccess- 
ful revolution  of  the  Gutierrez  brothers,  and 

17 


the  beams  still  projected  from  the  towers  of 
the  cathedral  where  they  had  been  hanged 
after  being  shot  to  death  in  the  prison.  The 
bodies,  after  hanging  awhile,  were  lowered  to 
the  frenzied  mob,  who  literally  hacked  them 
to  pieces  with  their  machetes.  Many  build- 
ings bore  the  mark  of  bullets,  a  mute  record 
of  the  late  reyolution. 

A  large  number  of  troops  had  been  con- 
centrated in  Lima  during  the  revolution, 
many  of  the  barracks  being  still  occupied  by 
them.  A  mutiny  occurred  in  the  quarters 
near  the  old  stone  bridge  over  the  Rimac,  at 
which  a  detachment  of  troops  w^ere  stationed 
to  prevent  a  sorte  from  the  barracks.  Every 
attempt  of  the  mutineers  to  emerge  from  the 
big  gateway  was  frustrated  by  a  raking  volley 
up  the  street  toward  the  plaza.  Intermittent 
firing  was  heard  at  sunrise,  followed  by  the 
clanging  of  the  huge  doors  of  patios  as  they 
were  hastily  closed,  the  excited  shouts  of 
people  and  the  innumerable  noises  that  make 
the  uproar  of  an  alarmed  city. 

The  hotel  faces  the  plaza  opposite  the 
cathedral,  the  walk  in  front  of  it  being  under 
the  colonades  of  massive  granite  columns 
erected  in  Pizzaro's  time,  and  directly  in  line 
of  fire  from  the  bridge.  As  I  was  hurrying 
through  the  upper  hall  to  a  balcony  that 
opened  on  the  plaza,  an  officer  politely  sug- 
gested that  it  would  be  best  not  to  go  there. 
Rather  brusquely,  I  enquired  the  reason,  and 
had  scarcely  stepped  onto  the  balcony  before 
a  bullet  smashed  the  stucco  a  few  inches  above 


18 


my  head.  The  backward  leap  into  the  hall 
that  ensued  on  this  reinforcement  of  the 
colonePs  warning  elicited  from  him  a  fine 
compliment  on  my  agility,  and  he  smiled 
grimly  when  informed  that  it  was  not  my  in- 
tention to  offer  an  obstruction  to  such  good 
target  practice. 

When  the  firing  ceased,  the  colonel  and 
I  decided  to  go  to  the  post-office,  which  was  in 
the  same  block,  with  the  entrance  on  a  side 
street,  to  reach  which  required  a  walk  of 
about  four  hundred  feet  under  the  colonades. 
We  had  gone  about  half  way  when  an  irreg- 
ular volley  from  the  bridge  sent  a  shower  of 
bullets  hissing  by  us.  We  promptly  lined  up 
behind  one  of  the  large  stone  columns  near  the 
curb,  a  fairly  safe  position,  but  not  exactly 
comfortable.  As  we  stood  facing  the  cathe- 
dral, we  noticed  a  cab  issue  from  the  adjoining 
street,  the  driver  whipping  his  horse  to  a 
run  and  heading  diagonally  toward  us,  evi- 
dently bound  for  the  post-office  street.  He 
reached  the  line  of  the  Mercederes,  about  fifty 
feet  in  front  of  us,  just  as  another  volley 
raked  the  street.  The  horse  was  killed  in- 
stantly, and  the  driver  pitched  forward  on 
top  of  the  animal  and  quickly  rolled  over  and 
flattened  out  alongside  of  the  dead  horse, 
whose  body  made  a  good  barricade.  I  feel- 
ingly expressed  my  sorrow  for  the  horse, 
much  to  the  amusement  of  the  colonel,  who 
noticed  my  lack  of  sympathy  for  the  man,  and 
rightfully  attributed  the  omission  to  a  stren- 
uous encounter  I  had  had  with  a  cabman  the 

19 


day  before,  of  wMch  lie  was  an  interested  wit- 
ness. A  lull  in  the  firing  prompted  us  to 
resume  our  journey.  Although  several  bullets 
whizzed  by  us,  we  marched  the  remaining 
distance  and  rounded  the  comer  in  regulation 
marching  step.  The  colonel  was  a  veteran  of 
many  revolutions,  and  possibly  did  not  mind 
it.  I  felt  that  the  honor  of  the  United  States 
was  in  my  keeping  and  repressed  an  inclina- 
tion to  rush  to  that  corner  and  get  out  of 
range  quickly. 

Upon  our  arrival  at  the  post-office,  we 
held  a  council  of  war,  and  decided  that  it  was 
not  good  tactics  to  needlessly  expose  our 
forces  to  the  enemy,  and  returned  to  the  hotel 
over  the  flat  roofs  of  the  buildings.  This 
strategical  maneuver  was  successfully  accom- 
plished, and  the  entire  command  was  soon 
safely  at  rest  in  the  cafe  of  the  hotel. 

Lima  is  so  well  known  through  books  of 
travel  that  a  description  is  unnecessary.  One 
incident  seems  to  have  escaped  most  of  the 
writers.  On  Saturdays  the  blind  beggars  are 
allowed  the  freedom  of  the  streets,  and  small 
parties  of  seven  or  eight  are  seen  moving  in 
single  file  along  the  narrow  sidewalks,  each 
clutching  with  one  hand  the  ragged  poncho  of 
the  man  in  front ;  in  the  other  hand  is  a  cane, 
with  which  he  alternately  taps  the  building 
and  the  curb.  This  tapping  sound  of  a  num- 
ber of  canes  is  peculiar,  and  attracts  attention 
at  once  to  the  sorry  sight.  They  are  treated 
kindly  and  given  a  trifle  at  every  place  to 
which  their  leader  guides  them.    Their  be- 

20 


seeching  cry  of  "Alms,  for  the  love  of  God!" 
and  their  earnest  manner  of  turning  their 
sightless  eyes  toward  a  generous  giver  and 
calling  on  the  saints  to  bless  him,  is  very 
pathetic.  It  is  said  that  many  cases  of  blind- 
ness are  produced  by  the  irritation  of  a  silky 
filament  from  the  seed-pod  of  a  variety  of 
cactus  which,  floating  through  the  air,  lodges 
in  the  eye,  from  which  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  extract  it. 

The  far-famed  beauty  of  the  Limenas  is, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  an  exaggeration 
of  travelers  beguiled  by  the  partial  conceal- 
ment of  their  features  by  the  manto,  allowing 
but  little  more  than  their  beautiful  eyes  to  be 
visible.  One  glance  from  such  glorious  orbs 
would  brighten  a  traveler's  fancy  and  make 
him  reckless  in  the  use  of  adjectives.  These 
fair  dwellers  of  Lima  are  graceful  and  win- 
ning; some  are  beautiful.  The  majority 
seem  beautiful  by  contrast  to  the  brown  faces 
of  the  masses,  which  form  sort  of  a  Vandyke 
background,  on  which  a  fair  face  is  instantly 
noticed,  glorified  by  the  beauty  of  contrast. 
The  fairest  among  them,  if  seen  at  a  reception 
in  our  country,  would  not  attract  attention  so 
much  by  her  beauty  as  by  her  enticing  grace- 
fulness and  manner.  The  manto  is  gradually 
disappearing  from  among  the  better  class, 
and  all  who  wear  it  leave  the  face  fully  ex- 
posed. It  is  a  pity  that  the  wild  vagaries  of 
the  Parisian  modiste  are  slowly  replacing  this 
graceful  garment. 

21 


To  make  a  call  in  Lima  is  to  experience  a 
hospitality  which  is  indescribably  charming. 
Ladies  receive  without  rising ;  the  host  greets 
the  visitor  in  a  manner  that  puts  him  at  ease 
at  once;  the  ladies  gently  echo  the  perfect 
greeting,  persuasively  informing  him  that  the 
house  and  all  it  contains  is  his  and  at  his  dis- 
position. At  times,  the  enraptured  visitor 
wishes  that  this  was  a  fact  instead  of  an  ex- 
aggerated form  of  welcome.  The  weather  is 
never  mentioned  as  a  topic  of  conversation,  as 
there  are  but  slight  changes  of  climate  on  the 
coast,  one  day  being  very  like  another.  This 
trait  alone  should  absolve  the  Peruvians  from 
all  their  sins. 

After  a  Sunday,  the  morning  of  which 
was  made  unbearable  by  the  clangor  of  bells 
from  a  hundred  churches,  and  the  afternoon 
pleasantly  exciting  by  the  spectacle  of  a  bull 
fight,  we  embarked  at  Callao  on  the  coasting 
steamer  bound  north  to  the  Bay  of  Ferrol. 
Amidst  the  uproar  at  the  landing  we  distin- 
guished the  cry  of  the  ubiquitous  lottery 
ticket  seller,  proclaiming  the  opportunity  to 
win  a  thousand  soles*  for  ten  centavos,  all  for 
the  glory  of  the  church.  We  thought  of  the 
noisy  bells  and  firmly  resisted  the  allurements 
of  this  absurd  agent  of  chance  whose  wailing 
note  w^as  our  last  reminder  of  Lima. 

*Sole,     Peruvian  silver  dollar. 


22 


in 

CHIMBOTE. 

THE  Bay  of  Ferrol,  now  called  Chimbote 
Bay,  is  the  finest  natural  harbor  on  the 
western  coast.  It  is  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  Department  of  Ancachs. 

We  were  greeted  at  the  rocky  portals  of 
the  entrance  to  this  harbor  by  the  roaring  of 
hundreds  of  large  sea  lions.  The  new  railroad 
town  of  Chimbote  was  inhabited  chiefly  by 
foreigners,  employes  of  the  company.  The 
houses  are  built  of  a  frame-work  of  wood 
covered  with  painted  corrugated  iron.  The 
interior  walls  are  covered  with  heavy  canvas, 
tastefully  papered.  These  dwellings  were 
neat  and  cool,  and  earthquake  proof.  Here 
were  the  headquarters  of  the  Chimbote  & 
Recuay  Railroad,  then  under  construction,  in 
the  location  of  which  through  the  canon  of 
the  Rio  de  la  Santa,  the  writer  was  to  assist. 

The  Rio  de  la  Santa  has  its  source  in  the 
Laguna  de  Corrococha,  thirteen  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  about  ten  degrees  south  lati- 
tude. It  flows  northwesterly,  parallel  with 
the  coast  to  about  S^  40'  south,  then  taking  an 

23 


easy  bend  to  the  southwest,  it  enters  the  Pacific 
near  the  port  of  Santa,  a  course  of  about  one 
hundred  and  sixty  miles.  It  is  the  largest 
river  in  Peru  flowing  into  the  Pacific. 
Between  its  source  and  the  bend  is  a 
spur  range  of  the  Cordillera  Negra  of  an 
average  altitude  of  fourteen  thousand  feet. 
The  map-makers  complacently  ignore  this 
range,  though  it  is  larger  than  the  Alps,  with 
peaks  higher  than  Mt.  Blanc.  At  the  big  bend 
the  Santa  breaks  through  this  range,  as  does 
the  Columbia  River  through  the  Cascade 
Range.  Even  to  one  familiar  with  the  wildest 
parts  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  scene  is 
one  of  impressive  grandeur.  Near  this  turn 
a  large  acequia  was  being  constructed  for  the 
purpose  of  irrigating  and  reclaiming  the  Chim- 
bote  plain,  the  water  being  taken  from  the 
Santa  about  fifteen  miles  up  the  river— a  point 
decided  upon  after  thorough  examination. 
A  careful  survey  showed  that  an  ancient  Inca 
work  for  the  same  purpose  was  the  best  pos- 
sible route.  As  the  engineer  expressed  it, 
'Sve  could  not  get  away  from  it."  In  former 
times  it  had  plentifully  supplied  the  entire 
plain  which,  as  the  ruins  of  ancient  cities  in- 
dicated, had  formerly  been  densely  populated. 
Now  there  are  but  few  large  towns  in  the  in- 
terior, and,  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  the  people 
were  not  taxed  by  the  general  government,  as 
its  revenues  were  derived  from  the  sale  of  the 
nitrate  and  guano  deposits  on  the  coast— an 
exemption  enjoyed  by  no  other  community  in 
the  civilized  world. 


24 


The  mass  of  the  people,  called  ^'Cholos,'* 
are  principally  of  Spanish  and  Indian 
descent.  Near  the  coast,  they  are  of  every 
conceivable  admixture,  from  the  bianco  puro 
of  old  Spain,  to  the  villainous  offspring  of 
the  Indian  and  Negro.  Occasionally  one  en- 
counters the  peculiar  offspring  of  the  Chinese 
coolie  and  the  Chola.  The  best  classification 
of  the  mongrel  people  of  the  coast  is  found  in 
Dr.  Von  Tschudis'  book.  There  is  a  sharp 
distinction  of  classes,  founded  as  much  on  the 
predominance  of  the  Spanish  blood  as  on 
wealth  and  position,  those  of  pure  Spanish 
descent  holding  themselves  as  infinitely  su- 
perior to  all  others.  The  wealthy  hacendados, 
merchants  and  the  learned  professions  are  at 
the  top;  the  small  land  holders,  traders  and 
artisans,  form  what  may  be  termed  a  middle 
class.  AH  these  look  down  on  the  Cholo,  the 
hewer  of  wood  and  the  drawer  of  water,  who 
labors  spasmodically  about  a  third  of  the 
year,  the  rest  of  the  time  being  devoted  to 
feast  days  and  saints'  days,  including  bull 
fights  and  cock  fights,  to  all  of  which  he  aban- 
dons himself  with  the  delight  of  one  who  is 
never  wearied  by  thought.  In  the  interior  I 
have  often  seen  men  and  women  working  in 
a  field,  in  one  part  of  which  was  a  shelter, 
simply  a  roof  of  broad  maguey  leaves  sup- 
ported on  posts,  under  which  would  be  a  few 
guitars  and  jars  of  "Chicha,"  a  light  sparkling 
drink  made  from  fermented  corn.  They 
would  work  a  few  hours  and  then  adjourn  to 
the  shelter,  play  the  guitar  and  dance.    If  a 

25 


stranger  approached  lie  was  welcomed.  They 
would  play  and  dance  for  him,  thank  him  for 
the  honor  of  his  visit,  and  speed  his  parting 
with  a  pious  wish  that  God  would  guide  him 
on  his  way.  All  this,  with  a  courtliness  that 
made  one  oblivious  of  their  sandaled  feet  and 
rough  garments.  Any  one  with  a  sympathetic 
soul  would  like  these  people  and  possibly  for- 
give them  that  they  know  not  the  virtues  of 
a  bath. 

The  staple  food  of  the  Cholo  consists  of 
yucas,  plantains  and  the  universal  chupe,  a 
common  dish  of  the  people  high  and  low.  This 
is  a  nutritous  soup  or  chowder,  made  piping 
hot  with  red  peppers.  The  red  pepper  ground 
to  a  powder,  and  made  into  a  paste  with 
water,  or  occasionally  with  olive  oil,  is  used 
as  a  condiment  by  all  classes.  It  is  known  as 
*'  aji,"  and  is  much  hotter  than  the  climate. 
The  Cholos  of  the  interior  chew  the  coca  leaf, 
touching  the  quid  from  time  to  time  with  pow- 
dered quick-lime  from  a  small  gourd  slung 
from  the  neck,  the  leaf  itself  being  carried  in 
a  sack  suspended  from  the  sash.  Coca  has 
the  stimulating  effect  of  strong  tea,  but  the 
result  is  more  lasting.  The  better  class  regard 
this  habit  much  as  we  do  the  chewing  of 
tobacco. 

A  coasting  steamer  from  Callao  arrived 
at  Chimbote  weekly,  making  a  short  stop  at 
its  anchorage  about  a  mile  from  shore.  I 
usually  boarded  it  to  obtain  the  mail  for  head- 
quarters. 


26 


On  one  occasion  while  chatting  with  some 
of  the  officers  in  the  main  salon,  we  were 
startled  by  three  distinct  shocks,  as  if  the 
steamer  had  struck  on  a  rock.  It  was  alarm- 
ing and  unaccountable,  because  we  knew  that 
there  were  at  least  six  fathoms  of  water  under 
the  keel.  We  rushed  on  deck,  where  one 
glance  shoreward  solved  the  problem.  Clouds 
of  dust  were  rising  from  the  ground,  people 
were  rushing  from  the  houses,  and  the  air  was 
vibrating  with  the  alarming  uproar  that  pro- 
claims an  earthquake. 


27 


IV 

ACROSS  THE  CORDILLERA    NEGRA. 

I  STARTED  into  the  interior  following  a 
rarely  traveled  road,  across  the  Chimbote 
plain,  and  over  the  spur  range  of  the  Cor- 
dillera Negra.  My  outfit  consisted  of  a  pack- 
train  of  about  a  dozen  mules  and  three 
arrieros,  or  muleteers,  myself  and  a  servant 
being  mounted  on  horses.  The  way  across  the 
plain  was  by  ancient  ruins  and  for  a  short  dis- 
tance along  the  famous  walled  road  of  the 
Incas  described  by  Prescott,  in  fairly  good 
preservation  here,  though  obliterated  in 
places  by  drifting  sands. 

The  first  stop  was  at  the  little  village  of 
Lacramarca,  inhabited  mostly  by  Indians, 
speaking  the  native  quichua;  many  of  them  un- 
derstood and  spoke  Spanish,  though  reluctant 
to  do  so.  They  were  shy  and  reserved,  refusing 
to  sell  us  supplies.  Following  a  hint  received 
from  the  prefect  of  the  province,  we  seized 
by  force  what  was  needed  and  then  tendered 
payment,  which  was  humbly  accepted;  no  re- 
sentment being  shown  at  our  high-handed 
proceeding,  for  they  shortly  after  offered  to 

29 


help  in  preparing  sheep  and  fowls  for  cook- 
ing. They  exhibited  so  much  astonishment 
and  delight  on  finding  that  we  were  not  also 
going  to  take  the  money  from  them  that  I 
made  inquiry,  and  found  that  soldiers  and 
others  from  the  coast  would  seize  what  they 
wanted,  ipaj  for  it,  and  demand  the  return  of 
the  money  before  leaving.  This  pitiful  story 
so  excited  my  ire  that  I  called  the  head  men 
of  the  town  together  and  told  them  that  our 
men  would  always  pay  well  for  what  they 
obtained,  and  if  any  employe  of  the  road, 
native  or  foreign,  abused  them  to  send  word 
to  me  by  one  of  their  runners  and  the  wrong 
would  be  redressed,  as  I  had  the  ear  of  the 
authorities.  After  that  they  sold  freely  to  all 
that  passed,  and  obtained  more  money  in  two 
years  than  they  had  ever  seen  before.  I  had 
the  satisfaction  some  time  after  of  assisting 
in  the  capture  of  two  Chilians  and  a  Portu- 
guese who  had  pillaged  these  helpless  people. 
We  were  not  at  all  gentle  in  our  method  of 
taking  them.  They  were  forced  to  refund  five 
times  the  value  of  what  they  had  taken,  and 
were  then  turned  over  to  the  prefect,  who  ex- 
pelled them  from  the  province.  The  news  of 
this  affair  rapidly  spread,  and  thereafter  the 
mild  dwellers  of  Lacramarca  were  undis- 
turbed. 

After  passing  Santana  we  crossed  the 
range  at  an  altitude  of  twelve  thousand  feet. 
Here  we  saw  the  first  condor,  hovering  in 
the  thin  air  directly  overhead,  so  close  that 
the  ruff  of  white  feathers  about  his  shoulders 


30 


and  the  iridescent  colors  of  his  naked  neck 
and  huge  comb  were  visible  in  the  flashing 
sunlight.  Although  very  graceful  on  the 
wing,  there  is  nothing  poetic  about  a  condor. 
He  is  a  carrion  bird,  remarkable  for  keenness 
of  vision  and  great  size,  many  of  them  meas- 
uring eighteen  feet  from  tip  to  tip  of  out- 
stretched wings. 

Just  beyond  the  pass  the  trail  is  narrow 
and  dangerous,  following  an  old  Inca  road 
hewn  from  the  face  of  the  cliff.  At  one  point 
there  is  a  sheer  descent  of  five  thousand  feet 
to  the  bottom  of  the  canon,  and  the  road  is 
so  narrow  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  that 
two  animals  cannot  pass.  There  is  a  wide 
place  at  each  end  of  this  portion,  one  end  not 
being  visible  from  the  other  on  account  of  a 
bend  in  the  road.  It  is  customary  to  halt  at 
these  places  and  shout  to  prevent  meeting  a 
party  coming  from  the  opposite  direction. 
We  gave  the  usual  signal,  and  receiving  no 
answer  proceeded.  About  half  way  over  we 
met  a  Cholo  with  four  burros  laden  with  sacks 
of  sugar.  The  stupid  fellow  had  heard  us, 
but  thought  he  could  make  the  distance  before 
meeting  us.  There  was  but  one  thing  to  do. 
I  left  my  horse,  walked  ahead  and  ordered 
the  man  to  unload  his  cargo  so  that  our 
animals  could  step  over  it,  and  then  shot  three 
of  his  burros  one  after  another  with  my 
revolver  so  that  they  fell  into  the  abyss  be- 
low; the  fourth  one  we  managed  to  turn.  We 
then  resumed  our  march,  the  poor  Cholo 
leading  the  way  with  his  remaining  burro, 

31 


crying  and  piteously  informing  the  saints 
that  he  was  a  ruined  man.  On  reaching  the 
wide  place,  he  was  paid  double  the  value  of 
the  lost  animals,  whereupon  he  withdrew  his 
previous  observations  to  the  saints  and  joy- 
fully called  upon  them  to  witness  that  he  was 
the  most  blessed  of  mortals.  On  parting  he 
was  nearly  frightened  out  of  his  wits  by  a 
judicious  selection  from  an  intense  vocabu- 
lary, acquired  principally  from  the  muleteers, 
which  informed  him  distinctly  to  what  par- 
ticular order  of  fools  he  belonged. 

The  rest  of  the  way  was  in  a  magnificent 
mountain  region,  through  fertile  valleys,  by 
picturesque  villages,  and  at  times,  over  barren 
slopes  amid  clumps  of  giant  cactus,  from 
which  large  flocks  of  green  parrots  rose 
screeching  as  we  approached.  Far  in  the 
east,  dominating  every  scene,  rose  the  tower- 
ing peaks  of  the  Cordillera  Blanca,  twenty 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  The  summit  of 
Cerro  Huascan,  above  Yungay,  has  an  alti- 
tude of  twenty-two  thousand  one  hundred 
and  eighty  feet,  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet 
higher  than  Chimborazo,  and  sixty-four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  higher  than  Mt.  Blanc. 
Switzerland  seems  petty  and  insignificant  in 
comparison  with  this  region,  which  makes  a 
picture  on  the  soul  that  is  lasting. 

After  passing  the  mining  town  of  Macate, 
we  sighted  far  down  the  slopes  the  Hacienda 
de  Taquilpon,  its  white  buildings  sur- 
rounded by  shady  groves  of  palta,  chirimoya 
and  orange  trees,  amid  green  fields  of  alfalfa, 

32 


plantan  and  yucas.  Five  hundred  feet  below 
the  plateau  on  which  it  is  situated  the  foam- 
ing waters  of  the  Rio  de  la  Santa  were  flash- 
ing in  the  sunlight.  At  this  accessible  part 
of  the  canon,  three  American  engineers  be- 
gan the  location  of  the  upper  part  of  the  rail- 
road. 


33 


AN  ENGINEER'S  CAMP. 

MY  FIRST  experience  with  a  native 
party  conveys  a  lesson  valuable  to  one 
unused  to  a  tropical  country.  The  party  con- 
sisted of  twenty  natives  of  Spanish  and  In- 
dian blood,  most  of  them  familiar  with  the 
routine  of  field  work.  To  them  their  new 
chief  seemed  filled  with  a  strong,  restless 
energy,  and  oblivious  to  the  effects  of 
heat  or  fatigue.  In  camp  he  treated  them 
with  a  kindness  they  had  never  before  ex- 
perienced; in  the  field  he  demanded  instant 
execution  of  orders.  The  poor  fellows  stood 
in  great  awe  of  him,  and  worked  faithfully. 
On  the  fourth  day  all  but  five  were  prostrated 
by  the  burning  fevers  induced  by  exhaustion. 
Ten  hours  a  day  under  the  glowing  sun  and 
the  hot  glare  from  the  cliffs  had  used  them  up. 

The  engineer  was  startled  at  this  result, 
and  much  astonished  when  the  others,  who 
had  been  longer  in  the  country,  told  him  that 
he  had  accomplished  as  much  in  three  days 
as  they  usually  did  in  three  weeks.  Before 
the  men  recovered  he  received  unique  instruc- 

35 


tions  from  headquarters  to  the  effect  that  not 
more  than  three  hours  a  day  of  field  work  was 
expected.  With  this  was  enclosed  a  friendly 
letter  from  the  chief,  an  old-time  comrade  on 
the  plains,  in  which  he  vigorously  condemned 
the  folly  of  attempting  to  apply  the  strenu- 
ous methods  of  the  west  in  such  a  country, 
where  a  man,  if  he  really  wanted  to  pass  in 
his  checks,  could  not  select  a  quicker  method 
of  doing  it.  The  climate,  he  explained,  would 
kill  a  man  soon  enough  without  the  assistance 
of  over-exertion.  His  letter  concluded  with 
an  injunction  to  '^  take  things  easy."  Then  a 
new  light  dawned  on  this  engineer  as  he 
realized  that  it  was  easier  to  adapt  himself  to 
the  ways  of  the  people  he  was  among  than  to 
attempt  to  convert  the  entire  population  to 
his  point  of  view.  By  concentrating  his  mind 
on  the  subject  he  succeeded  in  becoming  lazy 
and  in  wishing  to  work  no  more  than  three 
hours  a  day.  Later  the  climate  impressed 
him  with  its  lethargic  touch  and  he  did  not 
want  to  work  at  all. 

When  a  man  left  my  party  he  was  re- 
placed by  another.  The  newcomer  would  ap- 
pear in  a  ragged  poncho,  knee  breeches  and 
sandals.  Like  many  of  his  class,  he  had  prob- 
ably been  bathed  but  once  since  he  was  born, 
and  honestly  believed  that  a  dip  in  the  Santa 
would  give  him  the  fever.  My  rather  forcible 
missionary  work  among  the  older  men  had 
eliminated  such  false  views  of  life,  and  they, 
neat  and  clean,  would  gather  about  the  new 
recruit,   gleefully  anticipating  what  was   to 

36 


come.  On  the  second  day  the  new  man  would 
be  told  that  he  must  thoroughly  cleanse  him- 
self and  don  a  new  suit  of  clothes  that  we  fur- 
nished him.  Here  was  a  dilemma.  He  longed 
for  the  clothes;  they  would  delight  his  soul, 
and  he  would  win  the  co:ffee-colored  darling 
of  his  heart  when  she  saw  him  in  them.  But 
a  bath  might  possibly  kill  him.  He  would 
usually  refuse,  then  at  a  signal  my  men,  who 
had  nearly  all  undergone  the  same  process, 
would  seize  him,  take  him  to  the  river  and 
most  unmercifully  scrub  him  with  soap  and 
water.  A  few  days  would  convince  him  that 
he  would  not  have  the  fever.  After  that  his 
approach  to  godliness  would  be  perceptible, 
and  on  the  slightest  intimation  that  an  appli- 
cation of  soap  and  water  was  becoming  to  a 
cabellero,  he  would  give  one  anxious  glance 
about  him  and  bolt  for  the  river. 

The  following  year  I  established  a  camp 
several  miles  up  the  canon  on  a  desolate 
playa,  which  we  named  La  Soledad.  It  be- 
came noted  for  the  hazardous  character  of 
the  work,  which  necessitated  the  most  peril- 
ous kind  of  cliff-climbing.  When  a  man,  in 
climbing  *'  lost  his  nerve,''  as  we  expressed  it, 
the  natives  would  say  that  he  was  '*  charmed 
by  the  rock."  When  the  constructing  force 
arrived  many  men  lost  their  lives  by  falling 
from  cliff  trails,  and  many  more  by  the  knife 
in  camp  brawls. 

The  knife  used  by  the  Chilians  has  a 
strongly  curved  blade  about  ten  inches  long, 
sharpened  on  its  inner  edge.    It  is  held  in  the 

37 


right  hand,  while  the  left,  protected  by  a 
scarf,  is  used  for  guarding.  The  attack  is  a 
slashing  stroke  from  the  breast  downward.  It 
is  not  often  fatal,  as  the  abdomen  is  protected 
by  the  heavy  folds  of  a  sash  wound  around  the 
body  in  bull-fighter  style.  There  is  great  skill 
displayed  in  guarding  and  cutting. 

The  workmen,  five  hundred  in  number, 
were  mostly  natives  of  Chili,  turbulent  and 
difficult  to  control.  I  solved  the  problem  by 
selecting  the  worst  desperado  among  them 
and  appointing  him  chief  of  camp.  He  was 
a  magnificent  specimen  of  man  physically, 
and  an  expert  with  the  knife.  As  he  had 
about  thirty  of  the  fiercest  fighters  in  camp 
at  his  beck  and  call,  gentle  peace  brooded  over 
La  Soledad  at  brief  intervals.  The  Chilians 
had  a  great  contempt  for  the  Peruvians,  and 
once  when  a  troop  of  cavalrymen  was  stop- 
ping with  us,  they  took  offense  at  their  over- 
bearing conduct  and  ran  the  entire  command 
out  of  camp.  It  was  only  by  the  greatest  ex- 
ertions that  the  chief  and  his  force  held  them 
in  check  long  enough  to  permit  the  escape  of 
the  soldiers.  It  was  a  lively  row,  but  fortu- 
nately no  one  was  killed.  I  was  called  to  ac- 
coimt  for  this  affair  by  the  prefect,  but  a 
sarcastic  comment  on  the  retreat  of  a  detach- 
ment of  cavalry  before  a  body  of  men  armed 
only  with  knives  and  a  few  revolvers,  caused 
him  to  modify  his  first  impression,  while  an 
explanation  of  the  provocation  offered  de- 
cided him  to  overlook  the  matter  and  trans- 
fer the  officer  to  another  department. 

38 


A    modification    of    the    old-fashioned 
stocks  was  used  for  the  punishment  and  de- 
tention  of   offenders.     The   implement   con- 
sisted of  two  upright  posts  firmly  planted  in 
the  ground,  supporting  a  movable  horizontal 
bar  to  which  the  victim's  feet  were  shackled. 
The  bar  could  be  raised  and  secured  at  vari- 
ous heights.    When  it  was  close  to  the  ground 
the  prisoner  was  lying  at  full  length,  secured 
and  fairly  comfortable.     When  the  bar  was 
raised  so  that  only  a  portion  of  the  back  and 
shoulders  rested  on  the   ground,  the  punish- 
ment was  severe  and,  in  the  hot  glare  of  the 
sun,  produced  unconsciousness.     For  serious 
offenses  the  prisoner  was  sent  to  Chimbote, 
sixty  miles  away,  and  delivered  to  the  prefect 
of  the  department.     The  investigation  and 
punishment  was  delegated  to  those  in  control 
of  the  various  camps,  the  civil  engineer  in 
charge  of  the  work  being  the  highest  author- 
ity.   He  was  an  employe  of  the  government 
with  considerable  delegated  authority,   and, 
within  the  bounds  of  his  section  of  the  work, 
was  practically  an  autocrat.     The  affairs  he 
was  called  upon  to   decide   required   a  clear 
sense  of  justice.    I  often  read  the  chapters  in 
Don  Quixote,  wherein  is  narrated  the  experi- 
ences of  Sancho  when  he  was  governor  of  the 
Island  of  Barataria,  and  envied  the  shrewd- 
ness and  justice  of  his  decisions  as  displayed 
in  the  dispute  of  the  countrjanan  and  the 
tailor  over  the  five  caps,  and  his  power  of  in- 
ductive reasoning  shown  in  the  case  of  the 
hollow  cane  and  the  gold  crowns.    At  any 

39 


rate,  my  decisions  pleased  the  CMlenos,  and 
the  proclamation  of  a  decree  that  no  pmiish- 
ment  would  be  inflicted  when  personal  dis- 
agreements were  settled  with  the  fists  was  re- 
ceived with  vociferous  approval.  It  resulted 
in  much  rough  and  tumble  fighting,  but 
greatly  reduced  the  number  of  serious  en- 
counters with  knives. 


40 


VI 
COOLIE  SLAVERY. 

RECEIVING  instnictions  to  take  general 
charge  of  the  road  during  the  absence  of 
the  chief  engineer  and  manager,  I  moved  to 
headquarters  in  Chimbote.  At  this  period 
the  coolie  traffic  was  at  its  height  in  Peru. 
The  Chinamen  were  imported  into  the 
country  by  thousands,  under  contract  to 
sugar  estates,  contractors  and  haciendados. 
They  were  bound  out  for  seven  years,  and 
were  bought  and  sold  like  slaves,  the  price 
depending  on  their  physical  condition  and  the 
time  remaining  to  be  served.  The  abuses  de- 
veloped under  this  system  were  worse  than 
slavery  because  there  was  no  incentive  to  con- 
serve the  welfare  of  the  individual  beyond 
the  limit  of  his  time  of  service.  All  the  work 
possible  was  forced  out  of  him  during  that 
time. 

The  majority  of  the  coolies  were  the  off- 
scouring  of  the  Chinese  coast  cities;  there 
were  many  ex-pirates  and  scoundrels  among 
them,  and   the    scarred   foreheads    and    slit 


41 


ears  of  many,  bore  evidence  of  punishments 
inflicted  in  China  for  criminal  offenses. 

Like  all  people  of  Spanish  blood,  the 
haciendados  are  capable  of  excessive  cruelty, 
and  the  scenes  on  many  of  the  sugar  estates 
rivaled  the  worst  phases  of  slavery.  Serious 
uprisings  were  frequent  and  troops  were 
occasionally  required  to  guard  life  and 
property. 

The  railroad  company  owned  several 
hundred  coolies  who  were  mostly  employed 
on  the  coast  end  of  the  road.  Most  of  the 
gang-overseers  were  Portuguese  from  Brazil, 
a  brutal  class  of  people.  They  had  been 
gradually  allowed  to  have  their  own  way  un- 
til the  coolies  under  them  were  treated  almost 
as  badly  as  on  the  haciendas,  and  the  hospital 
always  contained  many  victims  of  barbarous 
punishments.  Three  instances  had  occurred 
where  the  tortured  coolies  had  risen  and 
overpowered  their  overseers,  killing  and 
mutilating  them  in  a  frightful  manner. 

The  delegation  of  authority  to  me  fur- 
nished a  long  wished  for  opportunity  to  put  a 
stop  to  this  sort  of  thing.  A  general  order 
was  issued  that  no  punishment  should  be  in- 
flicted until  the  case  was  submited  to  an  officer 
of  the  road  for  decision.  The  only  authority 
allowed  to  an  overseer  was  the  occasional 
touch  of  the  lash  when  the  men  were  working, 
which  experience  had  demonstrated  was  nec- 
essary. Disobedience  of  the  order  w^ould  be 
followed  by  dismissal.  As  anticipated,  this 
order  caused  an  uproar  of  mutinous  talk  and 

42 


threats  of  resistance.  Among  the  employes 
of  the  road  were  several  cowboys  whom  I  had 
known  on  the  plains.  They  eagerly  fell  in 
with  a  suggestion  to  ''see  me  through"  while 
enforcing  the  order.  One  of  them  accom- 
panied me  on  the  first  tour  of  inspection  of 
the  camps. 

Shortly  beyond  the  first  camp  a  Portu- 
guese overseer  knocked  a  coolie  senseless  with 
the  heavy  handle  of  his  whip  because  he 
lagged  in  his  work— an  insolent  violation  of 
orders  in  our  presence.  The  overseer  was 
promptly  treated  to  a  dose  of  his  own  medi- 
cine by  being  felled  with  the  butt  of  a 
revolver.  The  coolies  tied  his  hands  and  feet 
and  dragged  him  up  the  slope  of  the  cut.  They 
were  then  ordered  to  stake  him  down  and  cross- 
cut him  with  his  own  whip.  On  hearing  this  or- 
der, which  the  grinning  coolies  were  only  too 
willing  to  execute,  the  vile  Portuguese  fairly 
howled  with  rage,  and  then  began  the  most 
abject,  grovelling  plea  for  mercy  that  I  ever 
heard.  It  was  sickening.  He  was  finally 
given  the  option  of  immediately  leaving  the 
province,  which  he  promptly  accepted  and 
started  dowTi  the  line  on  a  run  as  soon  as  his 
thongs  were  cut.  He  disappeared  as  if  he 
had  evaporated,  and  the  pay  due  him  was  con- 
fiscated and  donated  to  the  hospital. 

Similar  scenes  occurred  at  intervals  as 
far  as  the  coolie  camps  extended.  Three  over- 
seers were  forced  to  leave  the  province,  and 
several  others  were  discharged.  Somehow 
the  remainder  grasped  the  idea  that  the  voice 


43 


of  authority  should  be  respected,  and  one 
phase  of  the  coolie  problem  was  solved. 

A  few  Americans  and  Englishmen  in 
Chimbote  were  much  exercised  over  the  use 
of  opium  among  the  coolies,  and  on  several 
occasions  had  raided  the  quarters  and  de- 
stroyed all  opium  and  pipes,  severely  han- 
dling the  men  that  opposed  them.  I  investi- 
gated the  opium  question  and  concluded  that 
the  poor  wretches  never  had  sufficient  money 
to  obtain  enough  of  the  drug  at  any  one  time 
to  disqualify  them  for  work,  while  the  little 
they  did  use  was  rather  beneficial  than  other- 
wise in  a  tropical  climate.  This  last  opinion 
was  supported  by  the  doctor,  so  an  order  was 
issued  forbidding  anyone  to  enter  the  quar- 
ters without  permission  from  the  superin- 
tendent. The  tenor  of  all  orders  was  in  the 
direction  of  interfering  as  little  as  possible 
with  the  coolies  when  not  on  the  work,  allow- 
ing them  to  follow  their  own  ways  in  camp 
and  delegating  to  picked  men  among  them  the 
duty  of  keeping  order  and  enforcing  sanitary 
regulations.  Thus  we  eliminated  the  constant 
irritation  caused  by  the  injudicious  med- 
dling of  outsiders  who  honestly  believed 
themselves  to  be  Christians. 

A  few  days  before  these  events  a  misad- 
venture befell  me,  due  entirely  to  my  horse. 
It  obtained  for  me  the  credit  of  boldly  charg- 
ing a  gang  of  mutinous  coolies  and  dispersing 
them.  The  animal  was  a  powerful  brute  that 
had  been  trained  on  a  sugar  estate  to  run 
down  coolies.    If  he  was  headed  toward  any 

44 


group  of  men  and  given  rein  he  would  dash 
among  them,  rearing  and  striking  with  his 
hoofs  and  biting  in  a  most  vicious  fashion. 
The  camp  where  the  incident  occurred  was  at 
the  mouth  of  a  gulch.  The  huts  of  the  over- 
seers stood  on  a  narrow  stretch  of  level 
ground  close  to  the  river  at  the  foot  of  a  slope, 
rising  and  narrowing  inland,  on  which  were 
the  huts  of  a  gang  of  about  thirty  coolies. 
The  place  was  entirely  concealed  from  view 
from  the  approach  up  the  river  by  a  project- 
ing spur  of  the  mountain,  around  which  the 
narrow  trail  made  a  sharp  turn  and  opened 
on  the  level  place  near  the  overseers'  huts.  I 
was  riding  leisurely  up  the  canon  with  the 
bridle  reins  hanging,  as  usual,  on  the  pommel 
of  the  saddle  so  that  my  sure-footed  horse 
could  "have  his  head"  as  he  picked  his  way 
over  the  dangerous  trail.  In  my  right  hand 
was  a  heavily  loaded,  silver-mounted  crop 
that  had  been  presented  to  me  in  Chimbote. 
Immediately  on  rounding  the  point  I  saw  the 
overseers,  two  Americans  and  a  Portuguese, 
lined  up  in  front  of  their  hut  facing  the 
coolies,  who  were  on  the  point  of  attacking 
them.  At  this  instant  the  coolies  uttered 
their  peculiar  cry  and  sent  a  volley  of  stones 
at  the  overseers.  Several  of  them  hit  mj^ 
horse,  and  one  struck  me  on  the  shoulder.  In 
the  effort  to  retain  my  seat,  both  spurs 
pricked  the  horse  and  he  plunged  right  into 
the  midst  of  the  coolies,  rearing  up,  striking 
with  his  hoofs  and  kicking  and  biting  sav- 
agely, while  I  clung  to  the  pommel  with  one 

45 


hand  and  used  the  crop  saberwise  with  the 
other.  The  overseers  meanwhile  banged 
away  with  their  revolvers.  The  ferocious 
attack  of  the  horse,  combined  with  the  steady 
firing  of  the  overseers,  was  too  much  for  the 
coolies,  who  suddenly  retreated  up  the  gulch 
like  scared  coyotes,  leaving  several  dead  and 
wounded  behind  them.  It  required  several 
minutes  to  quiet  the  horse,  and  then  the  over- 
seers overwhelmed  me  with  thanks  for  com- 
ing to  their  rescue.  Their  gratitude  annoyed 
me  even  more  than  the  many  bruises  from 
the  stones,  and  I  suggested  crossly  that  they 
address  their  thanks  to  the  horse.  I  abruptly 
started  on  my  way,  ruefully  contemplating 
the  shattered  fragments  of  a  once  beautiful 
silver-mounted  crop,  and  musing  on  the  ex- 
treme hardness  of  the  Asiatic  skull. 


46 


VII 
ONE  ASPECT  OF  THE  TROPICS. 

ON  THE  return  of  the  chief  engineer  I 
volunteered  to  undertake  the  task  of 
locating  a  branch  line  to  the  Hacienda  de 
Palo  Saco,  a  vast  sugar  estate  in  the  lower 
valley  of  the  river,  thirteen  miles  long,  with 
a  varying  width  of  from  one  to  two  miles. 
The  large  hacienda  building  with  its  numer- 
ous patios,  gardens  and  corrals,  dominated 
the  village  of  employes  and  outlying  mills, 
like  an  old  feudal  castle.  The  land  was  per- 
fectly irrigated  and  very  fertile,  producing 
two  crops  a  year,  and  keeping  mills  and  stills 
busy  most  of  the  time. 

The  location  of  the  line  was  reported  to 
be  extremely  difficult.  One  engineer  had 
died  of  fever,  another  was  unable  to  solve 
the  problem,  and  his  successor  had  absorbed 
too  much  cane  rum  to  accomplish  anything. 
An  investigation  disclosed  an  engineering 
problem  that  could  be  readily  solved  and  re- 
duced the  ''insuperable  difficulties"  to  two 
troublesome  obstacles.  First,  the  extreme 
heat  of  the   climate    and   the    prevalence  of 

47 


malarial  fevers;  second,  the  difficulty  of  cut- 
ting a  way  through  a  few  miles  of  a  dense 
jungle  of  thorny  trees  and  brush,  a  difficulty 
arising  primarily  from  the  conflict  of  author- 
ity among  the  hacienda  superintendents  that 
had  nullified  all  attempts  at  continuous 
work. 

The  first  obstacle  was  overcome  by  se- 
curing a  volunteer  who  was  willing  to  take 
the  chances.  The  second  was  solved  by  my 
refusing  to  stir  until  the  proprietor  had  given 
me  absolute  authority  over  everybody  on  the 
estate,  with  power  to  suspend  anyone  at  will 
during  my  stay. 

The  initial  day  of  my  autocratic  sway 
was  strenuous.  The  first  order  to  the  super- 
intendents to  work  their  gangs  in  relays  in 
cutting  through  the  jungle  was  met  by  polite 
excuses,  then  by  protests,  and  finally  with 
such  a  howl  of  indignation  and  threats  that 
I  was  convinced  that  the  fellows  had  not 
understood  their  written  instructions  from 
the  proprietor.  I  sternly  called  them  down 
and  requested  each  man  to  carefully  read  his 
instructions.  The  effect  was  instantaneous 
and  rather  ludicrous,  and  I  worked  them 
mercilessly  the  rest  of  the  day,  including  the 
two  hours  usually  allowed  for  siesta,  to  make 
up  for  the  time  lost  in  talking. 

The  work  was  vigorously  prosecuted  un- 
til an  epidemic  of  malignant  fever  swept  the 
estate.  This  delayed  matters  until  the  first 
few  days  of  panic  had  subsided.  For  a  week 
numerous  deaths  occurred  among  the  work- 

48 


ing  force  while  on  the  line.  A  man  died 
quickly  or  began  to  recover  a  few  hours  after 
an  attack.  As  my  work  ended  with  the  com- 
pletion of  the  alignment  and  the  placing  of 
grade  stakes,  I  rushed  it  relentlessly  during 
the  plague  period  of  two  weeks,  for  death 
claimed  more  victims  among  idlers  than 
among  the  workers.  The  last  ten  days  were 
equally  divided  between  a  restless  urging  of 
the  work  on  one  day  while  the  alternate  day 
was  spent  in  bed  struggling  with  violent 
chills  and  fever.  When  the  last  stake  was 
driven  I  crawled  weakly  into  my  saddle  and 
set  out  for  Chimbote,  trembling  with  the 
weakness  of  fever,  but  determined  to  enjoy 
my  next  day's  shake  amid  the  more  congenial 
surroundings  of  the  engineer's  headquarters, 
where  I  arrived  about  midnight.  Journeys 
on  alternate  days  soon  landed  me  in  Taquil- 
pon,  where  the  mountain  air,  assisted  by 
Peruvian  bark,  quickly  eliminated  the  ter- 
tianas  and  put  me  in  a  frame  of  mind  to 
appreciate  the  complimentary  remarks  of  my 
chief  for  solving  a  problem  that  had  baffled 
the  company  for  two  years.  I  was  also  ready 
to  make  a  resolution  never  again  to  attempt 
a  railroad  location  through  a  tropical  pest 
hole  during  an  epidemic. 


49 


VIII 
A  STORY  OF  LA  SOLEDAD. 

LA  SOLEDAD  was  in  the  wildest  part  of 
the  canon  of  the  Rio  de  la  Santa,  accessi- 
ble only  over  dangerous  cliff  trails.  The 
region  presented  a  picture  of  loneliness  and 
desolation.  The  dark  cliffs  and  mountain 
slopes  were  bare  of  vegetation  save  where  an 
occasional  cactus  lifted  its  heavy  leaves  in 
grotesque  picturesqueness.  Condors  circled 
in  the  thin  air  among  the  peaks,  and  at  rare 
intervals  a  rose-flamingo  winged  its  delib- 
erate flight  down  the  river.  At  night,  from 
the  cliffs  echoed  the  call  of  little  owls  (a 
variety  of  speotito  cunicularia)  simulating 
the  Spanish  words  ''ven  aca,  ven  aca"  (come, 
come),  intoned  with  indescribably  melan- 
choly cadence.  The  superstitious  Cholos  be- 
lieved it  to  be  a  portent  of  death.  One  of  the 
many  camp  brawls  was  so  blended  with  the 
weird  night  scenario  of  the  canon  that  it  has 
remained  strongly  impressed  on  my  memory. 

Jose  Eruquiza  was  one  of  the  Chileno 
desperadoes,  a  doughty  descendant  of  the 
Conquistadores,  with  the  air  of  a  grandee  and 

51 


all  the  vices  of  mingled  Spanish  and  Indian 
blood.  He  had  already  killed  two  men  in 
camp  during  the  year.  On  each  occasion  he 
had  been  arrested  and  **  reasoned  with,'*— 
that  is,  he  had  been  placed  in  the  stocks  with 
the  bar  well  raised,  until  the  combined  effects 
of  sun-glare  and  pain  had  produced  uncon- 
sciousness. He  was  then  revived  and  brought 
before  me  to  listen  to  a  terse  lecture  on  the 
duties  that  a  cabellero  owed  to  the  community, 
and  then  ordered  to  his  hut.  The  punish- 
ment of  the  stocks  was  deemed  sufficient  be- 
cause the  plea  of  self-defense  had  been  clearly 
established  during  the  investigation.  The 
fact  that  the  killing  had  rid  the  camp  of  two 
very  bad  men  had  its  influence  on  the  de- 
cision. Then  came  a  report  that  another  vic- 
tim of  his  knife  was  lying  dead  in  camp  and 
that  Jose  had  fled.  The  event  occurred  early 
in  the  evening  and  was  the  outcome  of  a 
needless  quarrel  provoked  by  Jose.  As  the 
guards  led  the  way  to  the  body,  I  heard  above 
the  moaning  of  the  river  the  mournful  cry  of 
the  owls—*'  ven  aca,  ven  aca,"— and  the 
weird  superstition  of  the  Cholos  came  to  my 
mind.  The  guards  halted,  bared  their  heads 
and  crossed  themselves,  while  I,  advancing  a 
few  steps,  recognized  in  the  dim  light  the 
body  of  a  young  Chileno.  Its  position  was 
such  that  the  eyes  appeared  to  reflect  the  rays 
of  the  Southern  Cross,  then  brightly  gleam- 
ing in  the  heavens. 

Orders   were    promptly   issued   for   the 
capture  of  Jose,  and  the  chief  with  the  two 

52 


guards  quicldy  started  on  the  quest.  A  few 
days  elapsed  without  word  from  them. 

One  evening,  as  I  paused  for  a  rest  from 
wearying  computations,  and  was  absently 
listening  to  the  faint  wailing  of  the  owls  from 
the  cliffs,  I  was  aroused  by  the  salutation  of  a 
panting  Indian,  a  runner  from  one  of  the 
mountain  tribes.  In  the  strange  music  of  the 
quichua  tongue  he  delivered  his  message. 
"Jose  is  found.  He  is  a  few  leagues  away  in 
a  hut  on  a  chacara  (a  small  plantation).  He 
is  dying.  The  fever  of  the  canon  has  seized 
him.'' 

Horses  were  saddled,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes, with  one  guard  and  the  Indian  as  guide, 
I  was  on  the  trail  leading  to  the  far  end  of 
Pampa  Mirador,  where  lay  the  chacara.  The 
full  moon  had  risen  above  the  Cordillera, 
glistening  on  snowy  peaks  and  gleaming  like 
burnished  silver  on  the  towering  pinnacles  of 
Cerro  Huascan.  Far  below  in  the  depths  of 
the  canon,  a  pearly  mist  outlined  the  raging 
torrent  of  the  Santa.  On  the  pampa  ahead, 
ragged  masses  of  detached  rocks  cast 
grotesque  shadows,  amid  which  vampires 
wavered  in  erratic  flight,  and  from  the  foot- 
hills was  heard  the  doleful  cry  of  the  night 
birds.  Far  above  the  snowy  range  the  con- 
stellation of  the  Southern  Cross  shone 
brightly  in  the  sky. 

The  traverse  of  the  pampa  had  been 
made  in  silence.  As  we  neared  the  hut  we 
were  astonished  by  a  shrill  uproar  of  mingled 
shrieks  and  curses.    Hurriedly  striking  open 

53 


the  door,  I  rushed  in  to  find  the  chief  guard 
mercilessly  lashing  a  howling  Cholo  with  his 
whip.  He  had  not  heard  our  approach,  and 
was  so  startled  at  my  sharp  order  to  stop  that 
he  dropped  his  whip  and  stared  blankly  for 
a  moment,  and  then  explained  that  he  had  left 
the  hut  for  a  few  minutes  in  charge  of  the 
Cholo,  and  on  his  return  had  discovered  him 
venting  his  hatred  of  Chilenos  on  the  dying 
man,  tauntingly  reminding  him  that  no  priest 
was  nigh  to  absolve  him,  that  he  was  doomed 
to  perdition,  and  telling  him  to  listen  to  the 
voices  calling  '*  ven  aca,  ven  aca,"  thus  add- 
ing the  terror  of  superstitious  fancy  to  the 
agony  of  death.  It  was  a  dastardly  act,  but 
lightly  punished  by  the  fearful  lashing  which 
had  left  him  streaked  with  blood  and  scarcely 
conscious. 

Jose  was  already  dead,  with  features 
distorted  by  the  final  convulsion  of  malignant 
fever.  After  leaving  orders  to  the  guards  to 
force  the  Cholo  to  dig  the  grave,  I  rode  away 
deeply  impressed. 

It  is  now  many  years  since  that  lonely 
grave  was  made  in  the  foot  hills  of  the  Sierra 
Blanca,  yet  at  times  when  musing  over  the 
distant  Peruvian  days,  memory  recalls  the 
scene.  Again  I  feel  the  languor  of  a  tropic 
night,  with  startling  vividness  comes  a 
vision  of  the  awful  grandeur  of  La  Soledad, 
of  black  towering  walls  of  a  gloomy  canon 
with  a  moaning  river  in  its  depths.  On  a 
little  playa  lies  the  form  of  a  murdered  man 
with  face  upturned  to  the  infinite  beauty  of 

54 


the  stars,  his  dim  eyes  reflecting  the  rays  of 
the  Southern  Cross— the  emblem  of  faith  to 
which  his  dying  gaze  had  turned.  On  the 
heights  the  Pampa  Mirador  spreads  in  the 
desolate  splendor  of  moonlight,  huge  rocks 
cast  fantastic  shadows  through  which  vam- 
pires flit.  In  the  distance  the  mighty  sum- 
mits of  Cerro  Huascan  pierce  the  heavens  like 
shafts  of  burnished  silver.  Beneath  the 
thatch  of  a  lonely  hut  lies  a  dying  man,  and 
voices  from  the  night  are  calling  to  his  re- 
luctant soul,  ''  ven  aca,  ven  aca." 


55 


IX 
ON  THE  WAY  TO  CARAZ. 

ON  A  JOURNEY  to  Caraz  to  examine  tlie 
upper  valley,  we  crossed  the  Cordillera 
Negra  on  the  road  between  Macate  and 
Huylas,  through  a  pass  sixteen  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  beyond  the  line  of  perpetual 
snow  in  this  latitude.  This  pass  is  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  feet  higher  than  the  sum- 
mit of  Mt.  Blanc.  I  noticed  here  the  peculiar 
sickness  caused  by  rarefied  air.  On  the  sum- 
mit of  the  pass  it  became  necessary  to  tighten 
the  girths  of  the  pack  animals.  The  exertion 
required  for  this  made  all  three  of  the 
arrieros  so  sick  and  weak  that  they  could 
scarcely  mount  their  horses.  Minute  drops  of 
blood  oozed  from  their  eyelids  and  a  clear 
liquid  from  their  ears.  They  seemed  to  suf- 
fer intensely,  and  swayed  weakly  in  their 
saddles  until  a  much  lower  altitude  was 
reached. 

After  crossing  the  pass  we  were  joined 
by  an  old  priest  mounted  on  a  fine  mule.  The 
old  padre  entertained  me  by  relating  many 
quaint  legends  of  the  mountain  people,  one 

57 


being  an  odd  version  of  the  lost  treasure  of 
the  Incas.  On  the  left  of  the  trail  was  a 
lonely  mountain  lake  with  a  few  green-wing 
teal  on  the  surface— the  pretty  little  duck 
familiar  to  northern  sportsmen.  The  lake 
was  about  half  a  mile  long,  nearly  oval  in 
shape.  From  the  far  side  rose  a  cliff  of  dark 
traprock,  the  reflection  of  which  gave  an  inky 
blackness  to  the  still  water.  It  presented  a 
picture  of  forlorn  and  desolate  beauty.  The 
padre,  pointing  to  it,  said  that  the  waters 
were  unfathomable,  and  in  their  depths  was 
buried  the  great  treasure  of  Atahualpa. 

When  the  last  of  the  Incas  was  impris- 
oned by  the  base  treachery  of  Pizzaro,  and 
agreed  to  fill  his  cell  with  gold  for  ransom, 
his  faithful  people  hastened  to  his  relief.  The 
enormous  treasure  was  divided  into  two  un- 
equal portions.  The  larger,  known  as  the 
*'  big  fish,"  the  smaller  as  the  **  little  fish." 
It  was  a  portion  of  the  latter  that  had  been 
delivered  to  Pizarro  when  he  caused  the 
execution  of  Atahualpa.  When  the  news  of 
his  death  became  known  the  remainder  of  the 
treasure  was  hidden  by  the  priests  in  charge 
of  it.  So  successfully  did  they  conceal  it  that 
none  has  been  found  since.  It  is  searched  for 
today  with  the  same  enthusiasm  that  fills  the 
seekers  for  Captain  Kidd's  treasure  in  the 
north.  A  portion  of  the  ^'big  fish"  in  the 
shape  of  an  enormous  chain  of  solid  gold, 
borne  by  many  men  over  the  same  road  on 
which  we  were  traveling,  had  arrived  on  the 
shore  of  the  little  lake  when  the  word  of  the 


58 


death  of  their  Inca  reached  the  bearers.  They 
cast  the  precious  burden  into  the  black  water, 
where  it  remains  to  this  day.  When  the  sun 
is  overhead  there  can  be  seen  a  gleam  of 
golden  light  reflected  from  measureless 
depths. 

The  old  padre  seemed  to  believe  this 
tradition,  which  he  related  in  detail,  giving 
the  length  and  thickness  of  the  links  of  the 
chain,  and  the  number  of  Indians  who  carried 
it.  I  wickedly  figured  him  down  and  dem- 
onstrated that  inasmuch  as  a  cubic  foot  of 
gold  weighs  twelve  hundred  pounds,  each 
Indian  must  have  been  carrying  about  eight 
hundred  pounds,  and  expressed  my  astonish- 
ment at  the  gigantic  strength  of  the  ancient 
Peruvians.  This  observation  evidently  dis- 
concerted the  simple-minded  padre.  How- 
ever, when  I  mildly  suggested  that  the  story 
would  be  true  if  the  number  of  carriers  were 
increased,  he  seemed  to  make  a  mental  note 
of  it,  and  his  countenance  resumed  its  normal 
expression  of  placid  content. 

We  arrived  at  Caraz  on  a  feast  day  and 
witnessed  a  ludicrous  travesty  of  a  bull  fight. 
A  bright-colored  square  of  silk  was  stitched 
to  the  skin  on  the  back  of  the  bull,  whose 
horns  were  tipped  with  wooden  balls.  The 
streets  leading  from  the  plaza  were  bar- 
ricaded, and  he  was  turned  loose  therein.  The 
half  drunken  Cholos  then  entered  and  at- 
tempted to  tear  the  cloth  off.  The  bull  nat- 
urally resented  this,  and  many  a  man  was 

59 


thrown  to  the  ground  or  tossed  in  the  air 
before  the  feat  was  accomplished. 

Our  party  witnessed  the  performance 
from  the  balcony  of  the  Governor's  house 
near  one  corner  of  the  plaza.  The  house  at 
right  angles  to  us  was  embellished  with  a 
large  open  porch,  elevated  about  seven  steps 
above  the  ground,  on  which  a  vociferous 
band  was  holding  forth.  One  of  our  party 
amused  himself  by  throwing  small  coins  into 
the  plaza  for  which  the  Cholos  would 
scramble.  Any  group  so  engaged  were  in- 
variably charged  by  the  bull.  By  an  over- 
sight, caused  by  his  excitement,  our  friend 
threw  a  number  of  silver  pieces,  most  of  them 
falling  in  front  of  the  band  stand,  and  every 
player  promptly  leaped  from  the  porch  to  get 
his  share.  The  bull  charged  into  their  midst 
and  ran  his  head  through  the  large  bass  drum, 
then  raced  frantically  about  the  plaza  with 
the  drum  caught  on  his  horns  and  partially 
blinding  him. 

This  diversion  enabled  one  of  the  Cholos 
to  tear  the  cloth  from  the  animal.  The  victor 
was  immediately  set  upon  by  the  mob,  who 
tore  the  silk  into  small  pieces  for  souvenirs, 
while  the  bull  was  roped  and  taken  away. 


60 


X 
CONCLUSION. 

ANOTHER  engineer  and  I  visited  many 
towns  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
the  latitude  and  longitude  of  each.  The 
observations  were  usually  taken  in  the  center 
of  the  plaza. 

In  one  small  Indian  town,  this  place  was 
marked  by  a  large  cross,  near  which  we  stood 
while  taking  the  observation.  The  usual 
crowd  collected,  but,  being  busied  with  my 
notes,  I  did  not  notice  them  until  their  per- 
fect quietness  made  me  look  up.  They  were 
all  kneeling  and  remained  so  until  we  fin- 
ished. As  they  regarded  us  with  such  a 
marked  expression  of  awe,  I  had  my  half- 
breed  servant  make  inquiries,  and  found  that 
the  simple  people  had  looked  on  our  observa- 
tions as  a  form  of  sun  worship,  akin  to  their 
ancient  faith. 

On  another  occasion,  while  taking  an 
observation  at  a  high  bench  above  one  of  the 
tributaries  of  the  Santa,  my  companion,  who 
was  looking  through  the  sextant,  suddenly 
stopped,  remarked  that  there  was  something 

61  ^ 


the  matter  with  his  eyes,  as  everything 
seemed  to  be  quivering.  I  immediately  ex- 
amined the  artificial  horizon  and  noticed  a 
fine  agitation  on  the  surface  of  the  mercury, 
which  was  steadily  increasing.  Suddenly  we 
felt  a  slight  tremble,  which  was  immediately 
followed  by  the  tremendous  jar  of  a  rotary 
earthquake.  Huge  masses  of  detached  rock 
rushed  down  the  gulches  with  a  crashing 
sound  heard  above  the  horrible  subterranean 
roar  that  seemed  to  vibrate  through  our  souls. 
From  the  valley  rose  clouds  of  dust  that 
obscured  the  opposite  cliffs.  Then  all  was 
still,  and  two  demoralized  engineers  stood 
staring  at  each  other  with  startled  looks, 
while  the  horses  moaned  and  trembled  with 
fright.  The  men  fell  to  their  knees,  invoking 
the  saints  in  an  ecstasy  of  terror.  This  shock 
was  felt  with  varying  force  far  along  the 
coast,  injuring  the  massive  stones  of  the  new 
mole  at  Callao,  and  demolishing  many  build- 
ings in  Arequipa,  where  several  lives  were 
lost.  There  may  be  exceptional  men  who  can 
accustom  themselves  to  earthquakes,  but  to 
the  average  man  the  idea  of  safety  is  asso- 
ciated with  solid  ground,  and  when  that  fails 
him  he  knows  not  where  to  turn. 

Peru  is  a  land  where  time  is  not  consid- 
ered. Mariana,  the  indefinite  tomorrow, 
rules  with  procrastinating  sway.  With  us 
the  fleeting  moments  are  deemed  precious  and 
control  the  limit  of  those  random  recol- 
lections. During  a  three-year  sojourn  in  that 
simny  land,  the  feeling  of  novelty  and  inter- 

62 


est  was  not  dulled.  The  sight  of  a  ruined 
city  or  temple  would  conjure  a  vision  of  the 
peaceful  reign  of  the  Incas.  A  battered  fort 
with  its  antique  cannon  would  suggest  a  pic- 
ture of  the  glory  of  old  Spain  and  the  bravery 
and  cruelty  of  Pizarro  and  his  adventurers, 
who  desolated  a  beautiful  country  in  their 
fierce  lust  of  gold.  Now  the  blood  of  victor 
and  vanquished  commingle  in  a  people  de- 
graded below  the  former  estate  of  each,  yet  a 
glamour  of  the  olden  days  surround  them. 

As  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun  emblazon 
the  snowy  summits  of  the  Cordillera,  the 
white  beam  of  the  electric  light  gleams  on  the 
darkening  coast,  a  symbol  of  the  new  life  that 
has  reached  the  shore  to  regenerate  this  fair 
land  through  the  coming  years. 


63 


JAPAN   BEFORE  THE  WAR 
WITH   CHINA 


JAPAN  BEFORE  THE  WAR 
„     WITH   CHINA 

MEMORIES  OF  A  VISIT  IN  1892 

IN  THE  dawn  of  time,  from  the  floating 
bridge  of  heaven,  the  Creative  deity 
plunged  his  spear  into  the  unstable  waters 
beneath;  as  it  was  withdrawn  the  trick- 
ling drops  formed  into  islands.  Thus  'The 
Everlasting  Great  Japan'  was  born  of  the 
glittering  drops  that  fell  from  the  jeweled 
falchion  of  Iznagi." 

The  area  is  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  square  miles— a  little  less  than  Cali- 
fornia and  about  two  and  one-half  times  that 
of  the  New  England  States.  Two-thirds  of 
this  is  mountain  land  not  cultivated,  but 
yielding  a  revenue  by  a  scientific  system  of 
forestry  founded  on  the  German  method. 
Thus  the  forty-two  million  inhabitants  of 
Japan  derive  all  their  food  products  from 
fifty  thousand  square  miles  of  cultivated  land 
supplemented  by  the  finny  harvest  of  the  sur- 
rounding sea.  The  most  important  and  best 
part  lies  between  the  thirty-third  and  thirty- 
sixth  parallels  of  latitude,  a  strip  of  land  two 
hundred  miles  wide  and  six  hundred  miles 


67 


long.  There  is  no  fairer  sight  than  Hondo  in 
the  dainty  loveliness  of  early  spring.  Amid 
the  quaint  houses  and  little  gardens  the  wis- 
teria droops  from  the  trellis  in  purple  beauty. 
Fringing  every  pathway  and  crowning  the 
dykes  of  the  irrigated  fields  myriads  of  tiny 
wild  flowers  add  their  pretty  tribute  to  the 
scene.  The  wondrous  tones  of  green  that  grace 
the  landscape  are  brightened  by  the  rosy  light 
of  cherry  blossoms  and  the  vivid  hues  of 
azaleas  glowing  on  the  sloping  foothills,  be- 
yond which  rise  the  verdure-clad  mountains 
dominated  by  the  snowy  cone  of  Fujiyama  that 
looms  afar  through  the  silvery  haze. 

Half  a  month  on  the  lonely  waste  of  the 
vast  Pacific  fills  the  soul  with  longing  for 
land,  though  it  be  but  a  barren  island  lifting 
its  rocky  crest  from  dashing  waves.  When 
this  longing  is  satisfied  by  the  sight  of  a  land 
beautiful  beyond  the  magic  touch  of  dreams, 
it  brings  a  sense  of  joy  that  ever  lingers  in 
the  memory. 

In  this  buoyant  frame  of  mind  two  voy- 
agers stepped  from  the  steamer's  launch  and 
strolled  along  the  Bund  in  Yokohama, 
thrilling  with  the  delight  of  the  first  impres- 
sions of  a  strange  country.  Suddenly  the 
writer  paused  and  thoughtfully  stared  at  a 
little  girl  with  a  baby  strapped  on  her  back. 
She  shyly  returned  his  gaze.  The  Asiatic 
countenance,  the  plump  cheeks,  oblique  eyes, 
and  a  certain  grotesqueness  of  attitude,  all 
seemed  strangely  familiar  to  him,  and  the 
funny  little  baby  with  its  shaven  head  and 

68 


unblinking  eyes  that  gazed  so  calmly  on  this 
vast  world  over  the  shoulder  of  its  carrier— 
surely  he  had  seen  them  both  before.  Then, 
like  the  memory  of  a  half -forgotten  name,  it 
all  came  to  him.  The  girl  and  baby  from  a 
sketch  by  Hokusai!  It  was  several  years  be- 
fore, while  examining  a  book  of  drawings  by 
this  skillful  artist,  that  the  resolve  was  made 
to  visit  the  scenes  that  inspired  his  wonderful 
suggestions  before  they  were  blighted  by  the 
deadening  touch  of  European  influence.  The 
vague  fear  that  the  picturesqueness  of  the  old 
times  had  gone  during  the  twenty-five  years 
of  the  new  era  of  Meiji,  was  dispelled.  Here 
was  the  living  proof.  The  artist  was  in  his 
prime  ninety  years  ago,  but  this  girl  was  not 
ninety  years  old,  and  the  infant  had  not  twice 
seen  the  cherry  petals  fill  the  air  in  rosy 
mimicry  of  winter's  snow.  The  writer  felt 
impelled  to  express  his  thanks  to  this  fair 
reincarnation  of  the  old  days,  but  he  knew 
not  the  language  of  the  sunrise  land,  and  his 
silence  became  silvern  as  he  gave  a  coin  to  the 
wondering  girl,  who,  in  smiling  acknowledg- 
ment, bowed  and  touched  her  forehead  with 
the  gift,  a  most  graceful  expression  of  thanks 
that  scarce  required  the  gentle  *'  aringato 
gozaimas,"  spoken  in  a  voice  low  and  sweet, 
while  the  funny  little  baby  nodded  its  shaven 
poll  in  infantile  approval.  It  was  a  good  be- 
ginning. When  the  children  of  a  strange 
land  smile  on  the  traveler  his  pathway  will 
be  a  pleasant  one.  This  traveler  was  elated, 
his  wish  was  realized,  he  was  among  the  peo- 

69 


pie  of  Hokusai,  and  they  brightened  his 
journey  with  their  gentle  ways  and  pretty 
fancies  over  all  the  fair  land  that  spreads  in 
ethereal  beauty  from  the  gilded  shrines  of 
Nikko  to  the  ancient  temples  of  Ise. 

The  grotesque  poses  of  figures  on  fans 
and  screens  that  we  are  all  so  familiar  with 
are  but  slight  exaggerations  of  scenes  of 
every-day  life  in  the  interior  as  it  is  presented 
today  (1892)— surprisingly  so  in  the  bur- 
lesque processions  on  the  Mukojima  during 
the  festival  of  the  cherry  blossoms.  This 
beautiful  avenue  extends  nearly  two  miles 
along  the  bank  of  the  Sumi-da-gawa,  and  is 
lined  on  both  sides  with  trees  bearing  a 
double  flower— the  famed  cherry  blossom  of 
Japan.  In  April  the  flowers  are  in  their 
prime,  the  laden  branches  form  an  arched 
canopy  above,  the  fallen  petals  carpet  the 
roadway  beneath  and  along  the  rosy  per- 
spective the  people  throng  in  holiday  attire, 
while  music  and  merry-making  rule  the  hour. 
The  soft  tones  of  silken  garments  make  of 
every  chance  group  a  study  that  entrances  an 
artist.  The  gaily  dressed  children,  romping 
and  playing,  accent  the  pretty  scene  with 
touches  of  bright  hues. that  remind  one  of 
brilliant  butterflies  and  the  pink  glory  of  the 
flowers.  There  is  no  other  part  of  the  world 
that  presents  such  a  charming  color  study  as 
the  festival  at  Mukojima. 

Near  the  avenue  we  discovered,  in  a  dense 
grove  of  pines,  an  ancient  temple  adjoining 
a  burial  place.    The  temple  was  small,  and  its 

70 


elaborate  carving  dimmed  by  the  soft  touches 
of  many  years.  The  sudden  transition  from 
the  brightness  and  jollity  of  the  Mukojima  to 
the  shadowy  grove  where  the  sacred  edifice 
guarded  the  dead,  was  very  impressive,  and 
moved  by  a  conmion  impulse  we  uncovered 
our  heads  in  the  mute  acknowledgment  of  the 
lesson  it  conveyed. 

In  one  part  of  the  burial  ground  we  dis- 
covered a  veritable  "  poet's  corner."  The 
stones  were  rough  boulders  with  a  polished 
face,  whereon  was  inscribed— not  a  lugubri- 
ous epitaph  to  the  dead  poet— but  simply  a 
few  lines  of  his  most  famous  verse.  'Twas 
enough,  those  whose  souls  had  been  touched 
by  his  gentle  art  would  recognize  the  last  rest- 
ing place  of  the  master  by  a  few  notes  of  his 
sweetest  song ;  his  name  had  long  been  graven 
on  their  hearts. 

About  this  time  of  the  year,  in  May,  the 
tea  plantations  are  thronged  with  women  and 
girls  gathering  the  first  crop  of  leaves  which 
is  sent  to  the  go-downs  or  warehouses  in  the 
treaty  ports  where  it  is  prepared  and  boxed 
for  shipment.  The  principal  process  is  the 
*'  firing."  There  are  long  rows  of  shallow 
iron  basins,  set  in  brick-work  and  heated  by 
glowing  charcoal,  with  hundreds  of  men  and 
woman  constantly  stirring  the  leaves  with  bare 
hands.  In  the  warm  days  of  spring  the  heat 
in  the  firing  houses  is  rather  trying,  and  the 
operators  have  so  little  clothing  on  that  its 
presence  is  not  noticeable.  The  bulk  of  the 
crop  is  shipped  to  the  United  States,  which  is 

71 


the  largest  consumer.  The  natural  color  of 
the  leaf  is  a  yellowish  green.  For  some  in- 
scrutable reason  the  users  in  America  insist 
that  it  should  have  a  glossy  surface  and  darker 
color.  To  meet  this  aesthetic  requirement  a 
small  quantity  of  powdered  talc  and  indigo  is 
added  while  firing.  The  greater  portion 
shipped  is  of  an  ordinary  quality  worth  about 
fifteen  cents  a  pound  by  the  cargo  in  New 
York.  The  tea  drunk  in  a  respectable 
Japanese  family  costs  them  from  twenty-five 
to  fifty  cents.  The  finest  tea  from  Uji  is 
ten  dollars  a  pound,  and  is  rarely  if  ever  ex- 
ported. Boiling  water  is  never  used,  as  it 
brings  out  the  astringent  quality  and  destroys 
the  delicate  flavor.  It  is  poured  first  into  a 
small  pitcher,  and  from  that  onto  the  leaves 
which  are  steeped  but  a  few  minutes. 

"  O  Cha,"  the  honorable  tea,  is  the  pivot 
about  which  everything  revolves  in  Japan. 
All  official,  social  and  business  affairs  begin 
with  it.  The  first  thing  that  greets  the  visitor 
under  any  roof  in  the  Empire,  from  the  dec- 
orated copper  of  the  gorgeous  temple  to  the 
rude  thatch  of  the  cooley's  hut,  is  the  tiny  cup 
of  fragrant  tea,  the  token  of  hospitality  and 
welcome.  It  is  offered  with  such  winning 
graciousness  and  served  in  vessels  of  such 
artistic  beauty  that  it  is  impossible  to  refuse 
it.  Tea  houses  are  the  restaurants  of  Japan, 
where  the  famed  geishas  are  called  to  enter- 
tain the  guests  when  a  native  gives  a  dinner 
to  his  friends.  They  are  professional  enter- 
tainers trained  in  all  the  accomplishments  of 

72 


their  art.  When  the  dinner  is  well  under  way 
the  screens  of  the  adjoining  room  are  slid 
back  disclosing  the  daintily  picturesque 
dancers  and  musicians.  Their  performance  is 
not  dancing  in  our  sense  of  the  word,  it  is 
really  a  series  of  pantomimes  illustrating  some 
well-known  story  or  fanciful  conceit. 

Every  graceful  pose  and  gesture  has  a 
significance  to  a  native,  but  is  difficult  of  com- 
prehension by  a  foreigner.  Many  of  the 
movements  have  become  conventionalized  in 
time,  so  that  a  once  significant  gesture  is 
modified  beyond  recognition  except  to  the 
initiated.  When  the  meaning  is  too  complex 
for  pantomimic  representation  it  is  ex- 
plained in  song  by  the  musicians.  There  is 
something  indescribably  quaint  and  delight- 
ful in  the  sight.  The  dancers  are  endowed 
with  the  beauty  of  youth  and  clad  in  silk  gar- 
ments of  delicate  colors,  in  beautiful  contrast 
to  the  brilliantly  decorated  screens  that  serve 
as  a  background.  The  artistic  beauty  of  the 
scene  is  beyond  comparison.  At  first  the 
effect  is  one  of  unreality,  as  if  the  spectator 
were  translated  to  a  festival  of  the  Arabian 
Nights.  The  vivid  impression  becomes  one 
of  the  rare  treasures  of  memory  among  the 
many  with  which  this  fair  land  endows  the 
mind.  The  native  inns  and  houses  are  a 
never-ending  delight  in  their  immaculate 
cleanliness.  The  rooms  are  bare  of  furniture 
and  covered  with  soft,  creamy  mats  of  woven 
reeds.  The  walls  are  decorated  and  the  wood 
work    skilfully    carved   and   polished.      The 

73 


small  depressions  for  handling  the  sliding 
partitions  are  often  inlaid  with  exquisite 
bronze  of  extremely  minute  and  artistic  de- 
signs. Occasionally  the  ceiling  is  decorated  in 
small  panels,  each  containing  a  different  de- 
sign of  embroidered  silk,  or  a  delicate  paint- 
ing. The  ceiling  of  one  room  that  we  occupied 
was  enlivened  by  a  large  dragon  that  was 
tearing  its  way  in  grotesque  fierceness 
through  rifted  clouds  that  showed  the  blue  of 
the  sky  beyond.  This  beautiful  tone  of  blue, 
flecked  with  fleecy  clouds,  was  continued 
down  the  side  wall,  gradually  fading  to  a 
lighter  hue  that  harmonized  with  the  color  of 
the  matting.  The  technique  of  the  work  was 
excellent,  and  a  most  curious  combination  of 
realistic  and  decorative  treatment.  When 
one  wishes  to  go  into  an  adjoining  room  he 
simply  slides  the  partitions.  No  doors  to 
slam  or  furniture  to  stumble  over!  When 
anything  is  wanted  he  claps  his  hands  and  a 
pretty  nesan  glides  through  the  wall,  and  sub- 
missively kneeling,  awaits  the  order— like  the 
genie  when  Aladdin  rubbed  the  wonderful 
lamp.  That  the  old  people  of  Japan  have  such 
a  serene  expression  is  doubtlessly  due  to  the 
fact  that  they  have  never  known  what  it  is  to 
bump  their  shins  against  a  chair  in  a  dark 
room.  When  old  pater  f amilias  comes  home 
with  his  *' honorable  inside"  comfortably  full 
of  sake,  his  poetic  condition  is  never  dispelled 
by  a  wrath-provoking  search  for  a  keyhole— 
he  simply  slides  through  the  wall,  noiselessly 
drops  onto  his  futon  and  gently  glides  into 

74 


the  land  of  dreams  with  visions  of  cherry- 
blossoms  and  geishas  floating  through  his 
mind. 

The  scenery  along  the  southern  shore 
from  Odawara  to  Atami  is,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  writer,  far  more  beautiful  than  the  famed 
Riviera.  It  is  a  border  land  of  the  temperate 
zone  and  the  tropics,  where  the  maple  and 
pine  greet  the  orange  and  plantain,  and  the 
bamboo  outlines  its  light  tracery  against  the 
dark  masses  of  the  camphor  tree.  The  air  is 
fragrant  with  the  mingled  odors  of  orange 
blossoms  and  wild  syringa,  the  pendulus  wis- 
teria swings  in  the  warm  breeze,  and  the  wild 
azaleas  illumine  the  openings  of  the  forest 
with  vivid  color.  The  road  winds  along  the 
shores  of  pretty  bays  and  over  projecting 
spurs  of  mountains. 

The  approach  to  each  ridge  fills  one  with 
a  delicious  anticipation  of  the  charming  view 
from  the  summit  that  is  sure  to  present  a  new 
arrangement  of  jutting  headlands,  framing 
the  sparkling  surface  of  a  little  bay  dotted 
with  grotesque  junks  and  sampans;  on  the 
land  side,  a  picturesque  village  nestling  amid 
the  hanging  gardens  of  the  foot  hills.  Atami 
is  reached  late  in  the  afternoon.  As  we 
dreamily  discuss  the  events  of  the  journey  the 
soft  patter  of  the  nesan's  feet,  as  she  brings 
paper  lanterns  to  light  the  room,  warns  us 
that  another  perfect  day  is  gone. 

It  is  night  at  Atami.  The  veranda  of  the 
room  faces  the  bay,  where  headlands  dimly 
loom  in  silhouette  against  a  star-lit  sky.     A 

75 


line  of  phosphorescent  foam  outlines  the  surf 
that  breaks  with  muffled  roar.  The  glow  of 
colored  lanterns  gleams  softly  from  quaint 
houses,  distant  notes  of  samisen  and  singing 
voices  float  on  the  air  and  harmonize  curiously 
with  the  sound  of  the  surf  and  the  gentle 
lullaby  of  a  woman  soothing  her  child  in  the 
court.  From  the  bay  comes  a  smell  of  the  sea 
that  mingles  with  the  odors  of  the  land,  the 
fragrance  of  unknown  flowers  and  shrubs  and 
the  faint  perfume  of  incense  from  a  temple, 
all  unfamiliar  and  suggestive  of  the  strange- 
ness and  remoteness  of  the  East. 

At  times  on  a  lonely  stretch  of  road  would 
be  heard  the  soft  notes  of  a  temple  bell 
vibrating  on  the  air,  proclaiming  a  sanctuary 
embowered  in  the  shade  of  giant  Criptomeria, 
a  shrine  dedicated  to  Kwannon,  the  sweet  god- 
dess of  mercy,  ever  bestowing  her  gentle  bene- 
diction on  the  weary  toilers  of  the  land.  The 
state  religion  (so-called)  of  Japan  is  a  revival 
of  the  archaic  "  Shinto,"  ''  the  way  of  the 
gods,"  vague  and  shadowy.  It  is  the  old 
mjrthology  and  worship  of  the  forces  of  na- 
ture, the  deification  of  heroes  and  ancestors, 
profoundly  modified  by  the  more  prevalent 
Buddhism  and  the  ethical  teaching  of  Con- 
fucius. The  middle  and  lower  classes  worship 
indifferently  at  either  Shinto  or  Buddhist 
shrines,  and  are  very  tolerant  of  all  religions. 
They  are  essentially  unspeculative,  and  the 
metaphysical  abstractions  of  Buddhism  touch 
them  as  lightly  as  do  the  hair  splitting  dis- 
tinctions of  the  Christian  theologians.    Their 

76 


attitude  of  mind  is  aptly  described  as  a 
''  politeness  to  possibilities."  All  religious  ob- 
servance is  pervaded  with  an  air  of  jollity  and 
merrymaking  which  prompts  the  outside  bar- 
barian to  designate  it  as  "a  little  fear  and  a 
great  deal  of  fun."  To  a  casual  observer  the 
most  deeply  seated  characteristic,  aside  from 
the  many  superstitions,  is  the  Confucian 
teaching  of  obedience  to  parents.  This  is  car- 
ried to  the  extreme  of  sacrificing  everything 
for  their  welfare.  The  vast  majority  of  the 
frail  women  are  those  who  have  been  sold  by 
their  parents  into  a  wretched  life,  driven  by 
the  dire  stress  of  poverty.  They  never  ap- 
proach the  depravity  so  common  in  European 
countries  among  women  of  this  class  because 
their  self-respect  is  preserved  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  obeying  the  highest  duty  that 
has  been  taught  to  them,  although  it  has  re- 
quired the  sacrifice  of  all  happiness.  The  aw- 
ful pity  of  it  impresses  the  Japanese  them- 
selves who  refer  to  one  of  this  class  as  **a 
lotus  in  the  mud, ' '  the  symbol  of  a  spirit  pure 
and  fair  amid  the  defilement  of  the  earth. 
Every  image  of  Buddhist  god  or  saint,  also 
those  of  the  Shinto  pantheon  are,  in  popular 
estimation,  endowed  with  special  powers. 
Even  the  temple  guards  are  not  exempt,  they 
are  the  grotesque  images  on  either  side  of  the 
gateway.  The  simple  native  will  have  his  pe- 
tition written  by  a  priest  on  a  slip  of  paper, 
then  chew  it  to  a  pulp  and  throw  it  at  the 
image.  If  it  sticks  he  believes  that  his  wish  is 
granted  and  he  goes  on  his  way  with  all  of  the 

n 


bumptiousness  of  one  of  the  elect.  An  idea  of 
the  appalling  audacity  of  throwing  a  spit  ball 
at  a  god  has  no  place  in  his  mental  equipment. 
Near  one  of  the  shiba  temples  is  a  latticed 
shrine  of  a  goddess  who  guards  lovers.  The 
petition  is  written  on  a  slip  of  paper  and  then 
tied  with  one  hand  to  a  bar  of  the  lattice.  As 
we  approached  with  our  Japanese  guide  a  very 
pretty  girl  had  just  finished  the  rite  and  was 
rising.  On  seeing  us  she  seemed  embarrassed 
and  blushed  slightly.  Although  this  was  a 
public  place  we  felt  like  intruders  and  that  an 
apology  would  be  in  order,  so,  prompted  by  us, 
the  guide  translated  our  somewhat  incoherent 
message  to  that  effect  that  we  were  deeply  dis- 
tressed at  the  thought  of  causing  annoyance  to 
so  fair  a  being ;  that  we  presented  our  compli- 
ments and  desired  her  to  know  that  her  prayer 
was  our  prayer  and  that  we  wished  her  happi- 
ness and  peace;  furthermore,  we  were  going 
to  make  a  silver  offering  in  the  temple  and 
persuade  the  great  gods  to  stop  all  other  busi- 
ness until  her  petition  was  granted.  She 
bowed  a  pleased  and  smiling  acknowledge- 
ment to  us  and  then  spoke  with  gentle  earnest- 
ness to  the  guide  and,  again  bowing  to  us,  van- 
ished in  the  throng  on  the  temple  grounds. 
The  guide  translated  her  words,  ^'  Please  tell 
the  honorable  gentlemen  that  gratitude  is  for 
their  kindness  and  sincerest  thanks  for  their 
good  wishes." 

Griffith  relates  an  extraordinary  instance 
of  the  strength  of  superstitious  belief  among 
the  common  people  shown  during  the  fearful 

78 


catastrophe  of  the  eruption  of  the  volcanic 
mountain  Sho-Bandai-San,  situated  near 
Lake  Inawashiro,  about  two  hundred  miles 
north  of  Tokio.  In  July,  1888,  a  terrific  ex- 
plosion of  pent  up  steam  blew  off  the  top  and 
side  of  the  mountain  and  hurled  masses  of 
rock  and  earth  a  distance  of  four  miles  whence 
they  spread  in  streams  of  boiling  mud,  bury- 
ing thirty  square  miles  of  country  to  a  depth 
of  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
Several  villages  were  destroyed  and  many 
lives  lost.  Just  before  the  eruption  a  native 
of  one  of  the  little  towns  had  gone  across  the 
valley  to  cut  grass  on  the  opposite  slope,  which 
was  beyond  the  limit  of  the  horrible  mud  flow. 
On  his  way  he  saw  a  fox.  The  bewitching  power 
of  foxes  is  a  common  belief.  After  seeing  one 
he  knew^  some  enchantment  might  come  upon 
him  and  he  must,  in  any  event,  keep  cool  and 
preserve  his  presence  of  mind.  He  was  fore- 
warned and  must  be  on  his  guard.  So,  when 
the  appalling  event  occurred  he  calmly  sat 
down,  lit  his  pipe,  and  observed  it  with  a  per- 
fect equanimity  born  of  the  conviction  that  it 
was  only  a  subjective  phenomenon.  When  it 
was  over  this  wily  philosopher  resumed  his 
work  with  a  complacent  sense  of  having 
passed  unscathed  the  ordeal  of  the  fox- 
bewitched. 

At  a  new  temple  in  Kyoto  there  were  sev- 
eral large  cables,  about  two  and  one-half  inches 
in  diameter,  made  of  the  tresses  of  women 
who,  too  poor  to  make  an  offering  of  money, 
had  sacrificed  their  hair,  a  touching  tribute  of 

79 


faith.    The  cables  are  very  strong  and  bring 
a  good  price. 

The  people  have  a  custom  of  rubbing  the 
accessible  images  about  a  temple  '*  for  luck;'' 
the  constant  friction  of  many  hands  obliter- 
ates the  carving  in  time.  A  common  subject 
among  the  guarding  images  is  a  monster  with 
the  semblance  of  a  tiger  endowed  by  the  cun- 
ning artist  with  an  aspect  of  exaggerated  fe- 
rocity. We  noticed  one  that  was  so  worn  by 
constant  rubbing  that  its  once  grotesque 
fierceness  was  only  an  impression,  a  vague 
suggestion  as  of  the  frightful  glare  of  Cerebus 
through  the  gloom  of  hades.  The  blurred 
demon  presented  such  a  ludicrous  aspect  of 
impotent  fury  and  helplessness  that  the  writer 
laughed  at  it  and  told  the  guide  that  it  sym- 
bolized the  leading  characteristic  of  the  Jap- 
anese, their  gentle  caresses  had  so  tamed  the 
once  awful  f rightener  of  the  spirits  of  the  air 
that  a  little  child  would  approach  it  without 
fear.  This  fancy  so  pleased  the  old  samurai 
that  he  translated  it  to  a  group  of  natives  who 
had  been  somewhat  scandalized  at  the  unseem- 
ingly  mirth,  whereat  they  bowled  and  smiled 
with  such  genuine  pleasure  that  the  traveler 
felt  absolved  of  his  rudeness.  Any  little  com- 
pliment or  fanciful  conceit  is  keenly  appre- 
ciated by  those  quick  witted  people.  So  is  any 
concession  to  their  customs.  We  delighted  the 
people  in  the  interior  by  dispensing  with 
knives  and  forks  and  using  chop-sticks  and 
conforming  carefully  to  their  etiquette  of  din- 
ing.    Chairs  are  unknown  there,  small  silk 

80 


cushions,  called  zabuton,  are  used  to  kneel  on ; 
the  legs  from  the  knee  to  the  ankle  is  on  the 
cushion,  the  feet  extended  back,  turning 
slightly  so  that  the  outer  ankle  touches  the 
cushion ;  thus  a  person  is  really  sitting  on  the 
inner  sides  of  his  feet.  The  bending  back  of 
the  foot,  making  a  straight  line  from  knee  to 
toe,  is  what  makes  the  attitude  impossible  to 
many  Europeans.  We  often  noticed  that 
women  in  railway  cars  would  sit  uneasily  for 
a  time,  then,  in  shy  desperation,  slip  off  their 
sandals,  tuck  their  feet  under  themselves  on 
the  cushioned  seat  and  settle  down  with  a  little 
sigh  of  content,  serenely  comfortable  in  an  at- 
titude unbearable  to  Europeans. 

Under  the  old  feudal  system  the  ruling 
classes  were  the  Shoguns,  the  Daimios  and 
their  retainers,  the  Samurai.  The  common 
people  ranked  as  follows :  First,  the  agricul- 
turists ;  second,  the  artists  and  artisans ;  third, 
the  merchants  and  traders.  Below  all  were 
the  Eta  or  outcasts  who  had  no  legal  rights. 
The  Mikado  was  a  nominal  ruler,  the  govern- 
ing power  being  absolutely  in  the  hands  of  his 
chief  minister,  the  most  powerful  Shogun, 
who  controlled  the  person  of  the  Mikado. 
After  the  revolution  of  1868  the  present  form 
of  government  was  instituted,  modeled  on  the 
lines  of  the  German  constitution.  It  was 
gradually  introduced  and  officially  established 
on  the  promulgation  of  the  constitution  in 
1890.  The  Mikado,  or  Emperor,  became  the 
actual  ruler,  with  a  nobility  somewhat  after 
the  English  form,    composed   of  the   former 

81 


Shoguns  and  Daimios,  the  gentry  being  rep- 
resented by  the  Sumnrai  who,  by  imperial  de- 
cree, put  aside  their  swords  in  1871.  All  below 
the  Samurai,  including  the  Eta,  are  the  com- 
mon people  with  equal  standing  and  legal 
rights.  All  revenues  revert  to  the  general  gov- 
ernment. The  Shoguns  and  Daimios,  in  lieu 
of  their  former  revenues  derived  from  the 
taxes  of  their  respective  provinces,  receive  a 
spcified  sum  which  is  gradually  reduced  to 
only  a  liberal  allowance,  thus  cutting  off  the 
supplies  of  their  retainers,  the  Samurai,  who 
were  forced  into  various  occupations.  Some 
were  ennobled,  many  entered  the  new  army 
and  navy,  and  great  numbers  were  reduced  to 
pitiful  straits  to  obtain  a  livelihood  for  which 
their  training  had  unfitted  them.  In  the  old 
days  these  two-sworded  men,  the  Samurai, 
were  the  soldiers  and  scholars  of  the  country, 
a  unique  combination.  They  had  evolved  as 
fine  a  sense  of  honor  as  did  the  knights  of  old 
and  from  this  class  have  sprung  the  most  able 
men  of  Japan. 

Although  a  generation  has  passed  since 
the  new  order  of  things,  the  old  traditions 
tinge  the  customs  of  the  people.  The  merchant 
is  increasing  in  wealth  and  importance,  but 
he  is  low  in  the  social  scale. 

It  is  this  class  with  which  the  foreigner 
comes  mostly  in  contact.  He  finds  them  unre- 
liable and  tricky  and  so  assumes  that  all  Jap- 
anese are  like  them  and  vigorously  denounces 
the  entire  nation.  With  the  exception  of  a 
few  scholars  and  scientists,  the  foreign  resi- 

82 


dents  betray  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  Japan- 
ese art  and  of  the  finer  traits  of  native  charac- 
ter. Much  that  is  striking  to  a  new  arrival  is 
commonplace  to  them,  and  as  they  are  very 
ordinary  business  men  they  do  not  look  much 
beyond  their  own  affairs.  They  are  easy  go- 
ing in  their  ways  and  very  pleasant  and  hos- 
pitable. The  great  mass  of  the  people  are 
poor  but  industrious  and  contented.  They 
have  adapted  themselves  perfectly  to  their 
surroundings  and  exhibit  a  genius  in  accom- 
plishing great  results  with  the  simplest  means. 
In  the  opinion  of  the  writer  they  are  the  most 
gentle,  courteous,  and  cleanliest  people  in  the 
world.  The  average  Japanese  is  frank,  hon- 
est and  loyal,  with  a  happy  disposition  for 
obtaining  a  healthful  enjoyment  from  the  sim- 
plest things.  They  are  essentially  artistic  in 
temperament.  Lafcadio  Hearn  says  that 
*'they  seem  like  soft  reflections  of  the  Latin 
types  without  the  Latin  force  and  brilliancy 
and  passion,  somewhat  as  in  dreams  the  mem- 
ory of  people  we  have  known  becomes  smil- 
ingly aerial  and  imponderable." 

Long  ago  Kaempfer  said,  ''they  far 
outdo  the  Christians."  It  is  difficult  to  make 
a  just  estimate,  for  their  ideas  and  modes  of 
thought  are  different  from  ours.  In  theory 
they  may  be  worse,  in  practice  they  average 
as  good.  In  the  common  schools  they  are  now 
made  familiar  with  the  sayings  of  the  sages, 
including  those  of  India  and  China  and  the 
book  of  proverbs  from  the  Bible,  and  with 

83 


the  ethical  teachings  of  Gautama,  Confucius 
and  Christ. 

Two  years  ago  there  was  a  revulsion 
against  foreigners,  lead  by  a  large  faction  of 
the  governing  class  supported  by  the  mass  of 
the  people.  It  resulted  in  the  resignation  of 
most  of  the  foreign  officials  such  as  professors, 
teachers,  engineers  and  the  like,  who  were  re- 
placed by  educated  natives,  to  the  detriment 
of  the  youth.  This  feeling  is  well  expressed 
by  Professor  Inouye,  of  the  Imperial  Univer- 
sity. He  reviews  the  disappearance  of  the 
natives  of  Australia,  New  Zealand,  Sandwich 
Islands  and  America  before  the  Anglo-Saxon ; 
tells  how  he  tyrannizes  over  India  and  then 
says  to  his  Japanese  countrymen,  ^'  Such  will 
be  your  fate  if  you  open  your  country.  The 
English  and  Americans  will  possess  your 
coimtry;  you  will  fade  off  the  earth  before 
their  temptations.  Their  vices  will  break 
down  your  vigor,  and  their  mental  power  and 
craft  will  outdo  you  all  the  time."  He  then 
warns  his  countrymen  to  let  no  foreigner  ob- 
tain residence  or  land.  ''Let  us  take  warning 
and  bar  our  country  against  this  clever  race; 
Japan  today  is  ours,  if  we  choose  she  will  re- 
main so."  The  traveler  is  greeted  kindly  by 
the  people,  but  official  Japan  does  not  welcome 
the  foreigner,  she  only  permits  him  and  con- 
fines his  residence  to  the  treaty  ports.  The 
war  and  new  treaties  will  profoundly  modify 
many  of  their  ideas. 

To  the  appreciative  and  sympathetic 
traveler  Japan  is  a  revelation  of  delight— to 

84 


one  wearied  by  the  rush  of  our  new  world  it  is 
a  paradise— the  very  spirit  of  peace  and  rest- 
fulness  abides  in  the  ancient  shrines  amid 
their  groves  of  pine  and  cedar,  where  the  only 
sound  is  the  soft  rustle  of  the  foliage  or  the 
mellow  booming  of  the  temple  bell  that  pro- 
claims a  worshiper  calling  upon  the  unseen 
power  to  guard  him. 


85 


AN  EXPERIENCE  OF  CHINESE 
DIFFERENCES 


AN  EXPERIENCE  OF  CHINESE 
DIFFERENCES. 

THE  recent  journey  of  Li  Hung  Chang 
around  the  world  naturally  attracted 
much  attention,  and  the  newspapers  were 
filled  with  various  accounts  of  Li,  and  of 
China  and  the  Chinese.  Most  of  the  articles 
betrayed  the  dense  ignorance  of  everything 
outside  of  his  own  ward  that  characterizes  the 
average  reporter.  Many  of  them  were  silly 
lies  that  had  not  even  the  merit  of  wit,  but  in 
all  this  trash  there  was  enough  of  evident  fact 
to  make  the  reader  realize  that  there  is  a  vast 
difference  between  the  Chinese  and  European 
mode  of  thought  and  action.  The  extent  of 
this  difference  cannot  be  realized  until  one  is 
brought  into  contact  with  these  people  and 
obliged  to  consider  their  ways.  It  is  then  that 
one  begins  to  understand  the  injustice  of 
judging  them  by  our  standards,  and  the  folly 
of  expecting  them  to  act  as  we  would  under 
similar  circumstances. 

Their  conduct  is  governed  by  a  thousand 
influences  and  superstitions  of  which  we  are 
ignorant,  so  that  to  deal  fairly  with  them  re- 


quires  great  patience,  sympathy,  and  tact, 
until  we  are  enlightened  by  a  knowledge  that 
only  time  and  experience  can  give.  For  in- 
stance, "Fung-Shui,"  the  superstition  of  the 
good  and  evil  influences  of  nature,  proclaims 
that,  *'when  two  houses  are  beside  one  an- 
other, the  one  on  the  left  is  built  on  the  green 
dragon,  and  the  one  on  the  right  on  the  white 
tiger. ' '  Now  the  tiger  must  not  be  higher  than 
the  dragon,  else  death  or  bad  luck  will  result. 
It  can  be  easily  seen  that  all  the  elements  of 
trouble  exist  here  if  one  house  belongs  to  a 
Chinaman  and  the  other  to  a  foreigner.  As 
Henry  Norman  says,  *'The  Chinaman  and  the 
mosquito  are  the  two  great  mysteries  of  crea- 
tion. ' ' 

During  many  years'  experience  as  Civil 
Engineer  I  was  often  placed  in  general  charge 
of  railroads  under  construction  where  large 
forces  of  Chinamen  were  employed  and  the 
problem  of  managing  them  was  forced  on  my 
attention.  First  in  Peru  when  the  vile  coolie 
traffic  was  in  vogue,  involving  all  the  horrors 
of  slavery  with  none  of  its  mitigating  circum- 
stances. The  absolute  control  given  by  a  sys- 
tem of  slavery  offered  little  inducement  to 
study  of  character  of  the  men,  as  all  orders 
were  enforced  by  the  lash. 

It  was  the  endeavor  to  lighten  the  hard 
lot  of  these  people  while  temporarily  in  official 
control  of  them  that  first  led  me  to  study  the 
causes  of  the  many  troubles  and  uprisings 
which  so  frequently  occurred,  and  which  could 
not  be  attributed  to  harsh  treatment.     The 

90 


first  general  fact  ascertained  was  that  nearly 
all  difficulties  arose  from  mutual  misunder- 
standing and  that  the  foremen  made  no  allow- 
ances for  the  superstitions  and  known  prej- 
udices of  the  coolies;  all  insubordination  be- 
ing mercilessly  suppressed  by  force.  Many  of 
the  troubles  were  due  to  the  large  class  of 
superstitions  relating  to  locality,  and  the  good 
and  evil  influences  inherent  in  places,  which  I 
afterwards  learned  were  grouped  under  the 
native  term,  *'Fung  Shui"  previously  refer- 
red to.  It  literally  means  "  wind  and  water." 
There  is,  of  course,  no  English  equivalent  to 
the  word,  as  the  thing  itself  is  unknown  to  us. 
As  very  little  specific  information  was 
obtainable  from  the  coolies,  the  questioning 
was  stopped  and  a  more  contented  feeling  in- 
duced by  a  series  of  general  orders  to  Division 
Superintendents  and  foremen  forbidding 
severe  punishments  and  referring  such  cases 
to  higher  officials  for  decision;  forbidding 
absolutely  any  interference  with  the  conduct 
of  the  coolies  in  camps  or  barracks,  except 
the  necessary  enforcing  of  order  and  cleanli- 
ness which  should  be  entrusted  to  coolies 
selected  for  the  purpose. 

The  orders  were  all  in  the  direction  of 
interfering  as  little  as  possible  with  the  ways 
of  the  coolies.  Their  enforcement  resulted  in 
a  very  great  change  for  the  better.  Mutinies 
were  rare;  greater  contentment  prevailed, 
and  a  most  decided  increase  in  amount  of 
work  done  was  noticed. 


91 


My  longest  experience  was  in  British 
Columbia  when  the  thousands  of  workers  on 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  invaded  the 
wild  solitudes  from  Burrads  Inlet  up 
through  the  canons  of  the  Fraser  and  Thomp- 
son Eivers.  About  four  thousand  of  these 
workmen  were  Chinese  of  a  much  better  class 
than  the  Canton  coolies.  They  were  obtained 
through  an  agent  of  the  Six  Companies  and 
shipped  direct  from  Hong  Kong  to  Victoria, 
and  from  thence  up  the  Eraser  River  and  dis- 
tributed among  the  camps  along  the  line  of 
the  work.  They  were  subdivided  into  gangs 
of  thirty  men  each,  and  all  transactions  with 
them  were  done  through  the  gang  leaders; 
that  is,  the  gang  was  the  unit,  not  the  indi- 
vidual. Those  from  the  same  province  were 
kept  together.  The  first  difficulty  was  with  a 
force  of  four  hundred  men  sent  directly  from 
shipboard  to  a  camp  on  the  banks  of  a  clear 
mountain  stream,  a  tributary  of  the  Fraser, 
and  an  ideal  camping  place.  Several  of  them 
died  from  scurvy  contracted  on  the  long  ocean 
voyage  and  the  rest  refused  to  remain.  They 
were  moved  further  up  the  river  and  replaced 
by  others.  Within  a  few  hours  the  new  force 
was  in  a  terrific  uproar,  refusing  to  work  and 
insisting  upon  inunediate  removal  to  another 
place.  This  w^as  done.  As  there  w^as  no 
apparent  reason  for  this  action  on  the  part  of 
the  second  force  I  decided  to  make  a  personal 
investigation  and  started  up  the  line  with  two 
reliable  interpreters.  On  arrival  at  the  de- 
serted camp  we  observed  red  paper  notices 

92 


attached  to  many  of  the  trees.  They  were  all 
of  the  same  import.  The  literal  translation 
was  somewhat  as  follows: 

*^  With  night  and  darkness  comes  a  large 
serpent  that  writhes  through  this  stream 
poisoning  the  waters,  bringing  misfortune 
and    death    to    all    who    drink    thereof." 

These  notices  had  been  put  up  by  the  first 
force  on  the  death  of  some  of  them  from 
scurvy,  and  was  only  their  figurative  Chinese 
way  of  intimating  that  the  water  was  bad. 
This  was  what  had  alarmed  the  second  force. 
As  pieces  of  red  paper  covered  with  Chinese 
ideographs  had  frightened  four  hundred  men 
I  decided  to  see  what  effect  the  same  means 
would  have  in  a  contrary  direction. 

The  interpreters  were  provided  with 
writing  material  and  they  were  instructed  to 
write  that  this  camp  was  the  most  fortunate 
spot  beyond  the  walls  of  the  flowery  kingdom, 
and  long  life  and  happiness  came  to  him  who 
drank  of  the  stream.  The  wily  interpreters 
exhibited  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  idea  and 
rapidly  furnished  new  notices  which  were 
pasted  over  the  old  ones.  The  next  day  a  new 
force  was  moved  to  the  camp  who  occupied  it 
in  placid  contentment  until  the  work  was  fin- 
ished. The  agent  of  the  Six  Companies  who 
furnished  the  Chinamen,  was  Sing  Kee,  mil- 
lionaire merchant  of  Victoria,  who  also  owned 
all  of  the  Chinese  supply  stores  along  the  line 
of  the  railroad.  The  company  paid  him  a 
stipulated  amount  for  each  workman,  "  head 

93 


money,"  as  it  was  called,  and  he  maintained 
control  of  them  until  all  of  their  obligations 
to  him  for  passage  money,  store  bills,  etc.,  had 
been  paid.  About  a  year  after  their  arrival  it 
was  noticed  that  frequent  desertions  occurred, 
from  the  most  Eastern  camps,  the  runaways 
taking  the  stage  road  to  the  Caribo  mines. 
This,  of  course,  was  a  violation  of  agreement, 
and  Sing  Kee  was  requested  to  put  a  stop  to 
it,  but  the  sly  old  diplomat  pleaded  inability 
to  control  men  who  were  so  far  off.  As  some- 
thing had  to  be  done  at  once  I  summoned  six 
of  the  American  foremen  that  I  had  known 
on  the  plains.  They  were  of  the  cowboy  type, 
and  readily  volunteered  to  ''round  up"  the 
last  gang  that  had  deserted. 

Mounted  on  horses  they  soon  overtook 
about  forty  men  on  the  road,  headed  them  and 
then  ordered  them  back.  The  Chinamen 
resisted,  and  some  of  them  being  armed,  fool- 
ishly opened  fire  on  the  foremen.  This  was 
child's  play  for  these  veterans  of  the  frontier, 
and  in  a  few  seconds  there  were  four  dead 
Chinamen  lying  by  the  road,  a  few  escaping 
into  the  forest  and  the  rest  on  the  return 
march  to  camp.  The  Government  authorities 
made  quite  a  show  of  official  indignation  over 
this  affair,  but  finally  let  the  matter  drop. 
Although  this  put  a  stop  to  all  desertions  for 
the  time  being,  it  was  evidently  not  the  way  to 
treat  the  matter;  so,  in  a  rather  disgusted 
frame  of  mind,  I  took  up  the  problem  from 
the  diplomatic  point  of  view.  A  little  thought 
brought  out  the  following  points :    Sing  Kee's 

94 


assertion  of  inability  to  control  the  men  was 
evidently  false,  because  some  men  of  a  group 
closely  associated  would  go,  while  others  re- 
mained. Sing  Kee  was  endeavoring  to  per- 
suade our  paymaster  to  deduct  a  certain  stim 
from  each  gang  in  addition  to  store  bills,  for 
additional  "head  money"  which  he  claimed 
was  due  to  him.  This  claim  was  false,  because 
all  '^head  money"  had  long  since  been  paid  by 
the  company.  The  agent  refused  most  posi- 
tively to  make  the  claim  in  person  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  gangs,  as  was  customary.  The  old 
rascal  knew  that  if  he  made  a  false  claim  in 
person  he  would  very  likely  be  killed  by  the 
first  gang  he  made  it  of,  hence  his  persistent 
efforts  to  have  the  collection  enforced  by  our 
paymaster.  His  conniving  at  the  escape  of 
Chinamen  was  probably  but  the  beginning  of 
a  series  of  annoyances  that  would  eventually 
enable  him  to  squeeze  this  money  out  of  the 
company. 

A  careful  enquiry,  conducted  secretly,  of 
course,  through  reliable  and  friendly  inter- 
preters, established  the  fact  that  no  China- 
man left  the  road  who  was  in  debt  at  any  of 
the  agent's  stores.  Although  our  paymaster 
paid  these  bills  for  each  gang,  after  approval 
by  the  gang  leader,  he  knew  nothing  of  indi- 
vidual accounts.  Here  at  last  was  something 
tangible,  and  orders  were  immediately  issued 
that  no  accounts  for  any  gang  should  be  paid 
in  full  until  their  term  of  service  had  expired. 
The  agent  was  notified  of  this,  also  that  posi- 
tive and  final  instructions  had  been  given  to 

95 


our  paymaster  forbidding  him  to  pay  any 
claim  of  the  agent  unless  he  was  present  per- 
sonally. As  was  anticipated,  these  movements 
blocked  the  celestial's  little  game,  and  he 
called  at  headquarters  to  see  about  it. 

It  was  a  bright,  sunny  day  and  I  was 
alone  in  the  large  comfortable  office.  A  gentle 
knock  was  heard  at  the  door,  then  enter  the 
agent,  bowing  and  smiling  and  shaking  hands 
with  himself.  He  was  a  small,  plump, 
fine  looking  Chinaman,  with  bright,  narrow, 
black  eyes,  regular  features  and  rather 
light  complexion.  _He  had  a  most  pleas- 
ing and  benevolent  expression,  and  the 
perfect  politeness  and  manner  of  the  upper 
class  Chinaman.  His  attire  was  most  beau- 
tiful in  its  richness  and  artistic  quietness 
of  color.  After  the  rather  elaborate  greetings 
were  over  Sing  Kee  sat  down,  cigars  were 
lighted  and  the  conference  was  opened  with 
his  gentle  interrogatory,  "  We  talkee  busi- 
ness'?" He  was  urged  to  talk  business  and 
informed  that  the  comapny  meant  business, 
and  it  was  the  intention  to  have  the  question 
of  head  money  and  runaway  Chinamen  ever- 
lastingly settled  before  he  left  the  room.  This 
produced  a  smile  from  him  that  was  almost 
heavenly,  and  in  tones  of  unusual  sweetness  he 
replied,  *'  I  understand." 

He  then  gently  inquired  if  the  informa- 
tion he  had  received  was  official  and  final.  He 
was  told  with  vigorous  directness  that  not  a 
cent  of  head  money  would  be  deducted  unless 
he  was  present  in  person,  that  no  store  bills 

96 


would  be  paid  in  full  until  the  term  of  service 
of  the  gangs  had  expired.  The  official  orders 
had  been  issued.  The  old  Chinaman  was  wise 
and  knew  when  he  was  defeated.  He  gazed 
thoughtfully  out  of  the  window  at  the  moun- 
tains for  a  minute  and  then,  for  the  first  and 
only  time  during  our  three  years'  acquaint- 
ance, betrayed  a  sense  of  annoyance  by 
exclaiming,  '*  Mitta  Scovill,  you  velly  sma't 
man,  sometime." 

The  limitation  to  this  rather  dubious  com- 
pliment, and  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
uttered,  was  too  much  for  my  gravity  and  I 
laughed  at  him.  The  polite  heathen  gazed  at 
me  a  second  and  then  joined  in  most  heartily, 
and  we  parted  with  our  usual  manifestations 
of  mutual  esteem;  and  from  that  moment  he 
ceased  all  efforts  to  squeeze  his  fellow  country- 
men through  our  paymaster  department,  and 
no  more  nmaway  Chinamen  were  seen  on  the 
lonely  road  to  the  mines  of  Caribo. 


97 


